Charlize Theron is thinking about all the hard work that went into creating Mad Max: Fury Road.
The South African actress, 44, marked the movie’s fifth anniversary by sharing a series of never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photos from the film’s ‘grueling, intense shoot’ in Namibia.
And she also marked a personal milestone with the photos, sharing a special moment with baby daughter Jackson just after becoming a mom for the first time.
Road warrior: Charlize Theron shared behind-the-scenes photos as she remembered Mad Max: Fury Road’s ‘grueling’ shoot while celebrating the film’s fifth anniversary
‘Went back into the vault to find some of my favorite moments behind the scenes,’ the Academy Award-winner wrote along with a shot of herself covered in sooty makeup while in character as the fierce Furiosa.
‘5 years ago, Mad Max: Fury Road was released,’ she reflected. ‘As you know by now, it was a grueling, intense shoot but my god was it all worth it.’
In the next post, Charlize showed off her ‘war rig,’ the giant armored vehicle which nearly all the film takes place on.
‘I’ll never forget the feeling of seeing my war rig for the first time and realizing holy sh***, [director] George [Miller] is not f***ing around.’
Mommy: The South African talent also marked a personal milestone with the photos, sharing a special moment with baby daughter Jackson just after becoming a mom for the first time
Heavy metal: In the next post, Charlize showed off her ‘war rig,’ the giant armored vehicle which nearly all the film takes place on
The giant machine revved its engines while at least a dozen actors waited on board before cameras rolled.
Charlize got together with her ‘girls’ in the next photo: a sassy selfie with Zoe Kravitz, Riley Keough, Courtney Eaton, and Abbey Lee, who each played one of villain Immortan Joe’s wives.
Theron didn’t let her bloody makeup stop her from having fun, as she and the ladies made funny faces (and Riley even flipping the bird) at the camera.
(Co-star Rosie Huntington-Whiteley was not in the shot, although she did play the fifth member of the harem.)
Charlize honored director George Miller in the next post, sharing a photo of the Aussie filmmaker.
Girl squad: Charlize got together with her ‘girls’ in the next photo: a sassy selfie with Zoe Kravitz, Riley Keough, Courtney Eaton, and Abbey Lee, who each played one of villain Immortan Joe’s wives
‘Legend’: Charlize honored director George Miller in the next post, sharing a photo of the Aussie filmmaker
‘The man, the myth, the legend,’ she wrote. ‘Forever grateful to you, George.’
Another picture marked a more personal moment for the star, who became a mom ‘right before’ the movie began shooting.
She offered a small smile and cradled her child in her arms in the photo, where she was still in full makeup.
‘At least my child will forever have the fun fact of “I spent most of the first year of my life in a war rig,’ she joked in the caption.
Charlize’s intimate look into the film came just days after The New York Times published a riveting oral history of the beloved sci-fi film.
In it, both Theron and co-star Tom Hardy admitted to their struggles on set, years after reports the pair butted heads while shooting.
At odds: In an oral history of the film Charlize and co-star Tom Hardy admitted they had trouble getting along on set
Big shoes to fill: Charlize told the paper that at the time, she didn’t realize how much pressure Tom was under by taking the iconic role of road warrior Mad Max – who was played by Mel Gibson in the 1979 original (above)
Charlize told the paper that at the time, she didn’t realize how much pressure Tom was under by taking the iconic role of road warrior Mad Max – who was played by Mel Gibson in the 1979 original.
‘In retrospect, I didn’t have enough empathy to really, truly understand what he must have felt like to step into Mel Gibson’s shoes,’ she told the Times. ‘That is frightening!’
Problems with production also added to the pressure. (The film’s shooting was plagued with issues, first forced to relocate from Australia to Namibia and then paused again several times due to extreme conditions.)
‘I think because of my own fear, we were putting up walls to protect ourselves instead of saying to each other, “This is scary for you, and it’s scary for me, too. Let’s be nice to each other.” In a weird way, we were functioning like our characters: Everything was about survival.’
Apprehensive: Charlize – who played the tough-as-nails Furiosa in the film – admitted she was ‘scared’ of delving into the action world, something she’d never done before
‘The biggest thing that was driving that entire production was fear,’ she went on.
Charlize – who played the tough-as-nails Furiosa in the film – admitted she was ‘scared’ of delving into the action world, something she’d never done before.
‘I was incredibly scared, because I’d never done anything like it. I think the hardest thing between me and George [Miller, director] is that he had the movie in his head and I was so desperate to understand it.’
Hardy also had his struggles, telling the paper: ‘I think in hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways.’
In over his head: Hardy also had his struggles, telling the paper: ‘I think in hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways’
‘The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times. What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced, partner in me,’ he explained. ‘That’s something that can’t be faked. I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.’
The epic scale of the production and its story also put an immense amount of pressure on the pair.
Tom said: ‘Because of how much detail we were having to process and how little control one had in each new situation, and how fast the takes were — tiny snippets of story moments were needed to make the final cut work — we moved fast, and it was at times overwhelming. One had to trust that the bigger picture was being held together.’
High pressure: ‘The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times. What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced, partner in me,’ he explained. ‘That’s something that can’t be faked. I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.’
Though the making of Mad Max: Fury Road endured may challenges, the final product was a hit.
The film became both a critical and commercial success, earning six Oscars and $375.2million across box-offices worldwide.
Right now a sequel is in the works, but there is no word on whether Charlize or Tom would return for the fifth part of the Mad Max saga.
It’s a hit! The film became both a critical and commercial success, earning six Oscars and $375.2million across box-offices worldwide