Charlize Theron was scared of Tom Hardy

Feb 24, 2022 | 6:25 AM

A new book outlines the feud between Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road.

According to an excerpt from Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, published in Vanity Fair, Theron grew scared of her costar after they argued about his chronic tardiness.

Crew members told author Kyle Buchanan that the dustup occurred after the Monster actress was forced to wait for three hours, in full costume, for Hardy to show up on set. When the Venom actor finally arrived, she started screaming at him, demanding he be fined for being late, and accusing him of being disrespectful.

Camera operator Mark Goellnicht said Hardy charged up to her and added, “He was quite aggressive. She really felt threatened, and that was the turning point.”

The Oscar winning actress said, “I was in survival mode; I was really scared s–tless. It was like two parents in the front of the car. We were either fighting or we were icing each other — I don’t know which one is worse — and they had to deal with it in the back. It was horrible! We should not have done that; we should have been better. I can own up to that.”

Hardy addressed his actions in the book as well and said, “In hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways. The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times.”

The “Dunkirk” actor continued, “What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced partner in me … I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.”