The inhospitable desert landscape of Mad Max - Fury Road isn’t so different from today’s Hollywood — low on water and overrun by men.
But amid the overflowing testosterone of Fury Road, George Miller’s sequel to his post-apocalyptic franchise, Charlize Theron dramatically stands out. While Mad Max may star Tom Hardy as the titular road warrior of Fury Road, it is effectively Theron’s film.
She plays Furiosa, a warrior with a shaved head and prosthetic arm, attempting to rescue a harem of wives held captive by a warlord.
“When people first started talking about this film, this loud whisper went around town that George was looking to create a female character that can stand next to Max and carry the journey with him,” Theron said in a recent interview.
“For a female actress, that always sounds intriguing. Look, we hear it all the time and very few filmmakers see that through.”
Fury Road, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday before opening in theatres Friday, is an atypical summer action movie essentially a two-hour car chase that’s literally and effectively driven by a strong woman.
Lately, a chorus of actresses has spoken out about what they’ve called inherent sexism in Hollywood and the lack of quality female roles. Theron stuck with the film through years of delays as shooting shifted from Miller’s native Australia to Namibia. It was a lengthy shoot followed by extensive reshoots the next year.
Theron acknowledges it was a sometimes trying production, but her commitment to the character is clear enough — Theron shaved off her blonde hair for the role. It wasn’t that we were trying to hide her as a female. Everybody had to get to a place where they almost forgot that she was a woman.”
