Furiosa, a Mad Max saga by George Miller, which comes out this Wednesday, thrilled spectators at the Cannes Film Festival. This prequel to Mad Max Fury Road explains how the warrior played by Charlize Theron in the previous film has become so fierce. Anya Taylor-Joy, seen in The Queen’s Game And Last Night In Soho by Edgar Wright reprises the role opposite Chris Hemsworth as a flamboyant and sadistic villain.
The two actors gave each other crazy looks under the direction of the Australian filmmaker. “It changed me from Thor in every way,” says Chris Hemsworth. Dementus, who I play, suffered so much that he lost a big part of his humanity. It was a lot of fun playing such a villain after playing a superhero. »
Crazy characters to link to
Furiosa’s heroes, whether they’re meant to be villains or not, aren’t particularly well-rounded. They kill each other with obvious enthusiasm, torture each other or be tortured and embark on chases in vehicles sometimes made of odds and ends.
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“I didn’t know how to drive before making the film,” says Anya Taylor-Joy. I learned for the film. It was a very physical shoot, more so than I would have imagined. Furiosa is a character so rich that you would have to be crazy not to agree to play him. » Separated from her mother since childhood, this resourceful kid grows up in a postapocalyptic world where she owes her survival only to her ingenuity.
“She and Dementus are two sides of the same coin shaped by an incredibly fierce universe. They hate each other but complement each other,” explains Chris Hemsworth. Their mutual hatred revolves around a very rich story where each and everyone must fight to recover essential resources.
George Miller at the helm
“George had planned everything down to the smallest detail to make us feel as comfortable as possible,” recalls Anya Taylor-Joy. The second unit director was already working on Mad Max 2. George pointed out each shot to him and made us reshoot what we had shot with him when he wasn’t satisfied! » The result is on the screen. It’s hard to believe that we can achieve this degree of perfection in action.
Enter the “Mad Max” legend
It wasn’t an easy shoot, admits Anya Taylor-Joy. I sometimes had up to seven layers of dust on my clothes and for the final scenes I spent five hours getting my makeup done, but honestly it was worth it. I fell in love with the character in the version created by Charlize Theron. I am proud to have been able to participate in his legend. »
Chris Hemsworth shares his enthusiasm. “George created a unique heroine, a free and strong woman. The opportunity he gave me to be part of his world was a godsend. » When Furiosa 2 ? The two friends are on the starting blocks to work again on following George Miller on all his projects. A bit like us in short.