It's no secret that Venom's Tom Hardy and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness star Charlize Theron clashed on the set of 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road. However, there have long been conflicting reports about exactly why the actors struggled to get along.
Hardy's method approach to playing Max Rockatansky may have been one point of contention, as was his frequent lateness to set. That resulted in a heated confrontation which saw Theron call her co-star a "f***ing c***" before he squared up to her; the consequence of that was the Oscar-winner demanding she have a female producer on hand at all times.
They've both since acknowledged their respective failings, with Hardy admitting he could and should have done more to foster a healthier working relationship with his co-star.
It wasn't an easy process making the movie, anyway, and only time will tell whether any similar issues occurred on the set of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (which, from what we can tell, had a much smoother production).
Talking to The Telegraph (via SFFGazette.com) about the prequel, Miller reflected on the clashes between Hardy and Theron while making Fury Road.
"They were just two very different performers," the filmmaker recalls. "Tom has a damage to him but also a brilliance that comes with it, and whatever was going on with him at the time, he had to be coaxed out of his trailer."
"Whereas Charlize was incredibly disciplined - a dancer by training, which told in the precision of her performance - and always the first one on set."
Theron's aversion to dust was also a problem, prompting Miller to assure her that cleansing wipes would be on hand when needed. "But she said, 'No, I'm telling you because I can use it,'" he explains. "And then every morning after getting into her costume and make-up, she’d come outside and roll around in the dirt."
"I’m an optimist, so I saw their behaviour as mirroring their characters, where they had to learn to co-operate in order to ensure mutual survival." Even so, he adds, "There’s no excuse for it, and I think there’s a tendency in this business to use great performances as an excuse for other disruption that could be avoided."
Neither Theron nor Hardy reprise their respective roles in Furiosa, with Anya Taylor-Joy stepping in to play the title character. As for whether Max makes an appearance, you can find details on that here.
As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga arrives in theaters in North America on May 24 and internationally beginning on May 22.