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Jeremy Renner Was Mad Max Long Enough To Do Chemistry Tests
Jeremy Renner was in consideration for the titular character of Mad Max: Fury Road long enough to do chemistry tests. Before writer/director George Miller revisited his franchise with a fourth film, audiences hadn’t seen Mad Max on the big screen since 1985. Mel Gibson infamously played Max Rockatansky throughout three entries. Those films changed the way people perceived post-apocalyptic cinema; having a look and feel entirely their own.
The increasingly gigantic franchise left Miller satisfied in the wake of 1985’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. He didn’t feel there was any more he could do. Twenty years later, he was reinvigorated by the idea of making a movie that is essentially one long chase sequence. By adopting the style of previous entries and incorporating a new premise, 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road was born. The fourth film was an instant critical and commercial hit, raising the bar for its genre. However, before the adrenaline-infused practical effects and Oscar wins, the role of Max Rockatansky needed to be recast. Gibson's age and profile didn't suit Max Mad: Fury Road and a younger (and more physical) hero was necessary.
A lot of actors and actresses were looked at for the film’s two main leads: Max and Furiosa. In The New York Times' oral history of the film, the cast and crew of Mad Max: Fury Road were asked about the production process. Producer Doug Mitchell mentioned looking at Uma Thurman for Furiosa and Zoë Kravitz (who played Toast in the film) talked about how she read with an Avenger as the lead: “I did a chemistry test with Jeremy Renner reading for Max because they hadn’t hired Tom yet.”
Fresh off his outing as Hawkeye in The Avengers, Aaron Cross in The Bourne Legacy, and Hansel in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (not to mention a critically acclaimed role in American Hustle), Renner’s stock fit the Mad Max criteria. It’s not surprising that Warner Bros. invested time in him for what would be a very demanding project, one Tom Hardy lamented as being “dangerous” if not for the methodical preparation of the film’s stunt team. However, the nuanced elements of Max's portrayal in Mad Max: Fury Road proved more accessible to Hardy than Renner.
In The New York Times article, Miller recounts finding Hardy to play Max. He said Hardy possessed the same sort of charisma, charm, and depth Miller saw in Gibson long ago. Given the fact that Max’s mouth is muzzled for a good portion of Mad Max: Fury Road, Hardy was the right choice. Hardy has excelled at inhabiting very physical characters in films like Warrior and The Dark Knight Rises. Bane, for example, wears and speaks through a mask, making subtle mannerisms crucial to the performance. While it’s fun to think of an alternate reality where Renner played Max, his particular brand of Hawkeye-centric exuberance may not have fit the bill.
