Charlize Theron famously shaved her head to play Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road, a role that garnered more attention than the star himself, Tom Hardy, who plays the titular role. But as much as Theron immortalized the now-iconic Furiosa character, Gal Gadot was once in the running for the role during the casting call. She also recently revealed via the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz that her audition took as long as four hours. And that is not all, as Gadot even screen-tested with Tom Hiddleston in London with director George Miller.
Unfortunately, neither of them won their respective roles. Gadot recalled that the screen test with Tom Hiddleston “was crazy”. She added that her time “walking into [the] beautiful home in London, into [the] office, [where she and Hiddleston] stayed for 4 hours”, a long audition best described as “so intensive”.
She remembers the confidence that she pulled off the audition for her role as Furiosa, and even praised Hiddleston for being “such an incredible actor.” She admitted she “didn’t know him back then”, other than acknowledging Hiddleston as a “big theater actor in England.” The Furiosa role, which ultimately went to Theron, solidified the acclaimed actress as an action star.
The treacherous journey of Mad Max: Fury Road
Looking back at Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller’s highly anticipated continuation of his gritty post-apocalyptic saga at the time had endured over 20 years of development hell, stretching way back to 1987 after the director released the third Mad Max movie – Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome – in 1985. Originally supposed to have Mel Gibson reprising his signature role for the fourth time, the project took a rough tumble in the early 2000s, particularly in the aftermath of 9/11.
By the time the fourth Mad Max movie was revived, it would take Miller between 2009 and 2010. Gibson was no longer involved, replaced by Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. Pre-production scouting began in the Australian outback, but surprisingly heavy rains in the desert caused the wildflowers to blossom, ruining the post-apocalyptic setting that Miller was aiming for. This left the director and his crew with no choice but to shift location to Namibia in Southern Africa, where principal photography got underway in 2012 – an arduous 120-day shoot under the scorching heat, since the movie required extensive stunt work.
480 hours of raw footage, two years of editing… and an Oscar at the end of the day
Putting Mad Max: Fury Road together was just as labor-intensive; it reportedly took Miller’s wife, Margaret Sixel, two years to edit into a two-hour final cut, and not to mention three months alone to watch a massive 480 hours of raw footage. Her dedication was ultimately rewarded after winning the much-deserved Best Film Editing at the 88th Academy Awards.
The movie even scored an astonishing 10 Oscar nominations, a feat rarely achieved for such a genre film that the Academy generally biases, including Best Picture and Best Director. Although the respective top awards went to Spotlight and Alejandro G. Iñárritu for The Revenant, respectively, Mad Max: Fury Road made headlines after winning six in total, the most awarded movie that evening at the ceremony.
The aftermath of Mad Max: Fury Road, and Gadot’s loss for the role was a blessing in disguise
Despite the movie making over $380 million worldwide, it was far from a big hit, especially when it factored in the inflated production budget of $185.1 million caused by filming delays. Miller would return to the Mad Max franchise nine years later, albeit redirecting his focus to giving Furiosa a spinoff prequel treatment starring Anya Taylor-Joy as the younger version. Unfortunately, even with positive reviews, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ended as a box-office disappointment when it landed in the summer of 2024.
RELATED: Chris Hemsworth Unrecognizable In Mad Max: Furiosa First Look
Gadot may have failed the audition for Mad Max: Fury Road, but there was a silver lining at the other end, where she subsequently landed the role of her lifetime: Diana Prince/Wonder Woman for the Zack Snyder-led DCEU, first appearing in Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice before leading her own solo 2017 movie.
RELATED: Wonder Woman Movie Review – Gal Gadot Shines In The Best DCEU Movie
The actress can be seen in the upcoming high-stakes thriller directed by Kevin Macdonald, The Runner, streaming on Prime Video on September 2.
Where to watch: Mad Max: Fury Road is not currently streaming on any major network. It is available to rent or buy on Prime Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home, however.
