Before Tom Hardy was cast as Max in Mad Max: Fury Road, Jeremy Renner was under consideration long enough to do chemistry tests.
Replacing Mel Gibson as Mad Max is no easy thing but Tom Hardy certainly did a stellar job in the much loved Mad Max: Fury Road. However, Hardy wasn’t the first person considered for the role.
In fact, The Avenger‘s Jeremy Renner was under consideration for the part of Max long enough for him to be brought in to do chemistry tests with Zoë Kravitz (who played Toast in the film). In a New York Times oral history of the film, Kravitz revealed: “I did a chemistry test with Jeremy Renner reading for Max because they hadn’t hired Tom yet.”
SEE ALSO: Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron open up about their on-set conflicts while shooting Mad Max: Fury Road
It’s interesting to think about how different the film would have been with Renner in the part. Hardy ultimately got the role, of course, with director George Miller saying Hardy possessed some of the same charisma, charm, and depth that he saw originally in Gibson all those years ago.
Do you think Jeremy Renner would have been a good fit for Mad Max in Fury Road? Let us know in the comments below or on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Originally published May 14, 2020. Updated December 9, 2022.
