Tom Hardy may have wowed fans as the title character in 2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road.”
But what would the post-apocalyptic flick have been like if Michael Fassbender, Jeremy Renner, Armie Hammer or Joel Kinnaman took on the part?
Writer Kyle Buchanan’s new book, “Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road,” is full of tidbits about the making of the film — including an allegation that when Hammer, 35, and Hardy, 44, auditioned for the role together, things got a little … wet.
An excerpt was published by Vulture on Wednesday, in which Buchanan wrote that Hardy reportedly slobbered all over the embattled “Death on the Nile” star.
“Near the end of the process, Hardy emerged as a front-runner alongside Jeremy Renner and Armie Hammer. Hardy and Hammer even read together as part of their audition, and when Hardy gnashed his teeth and spat at his scene partner, Hammer told [director George Miller] that Hardy needed to be Max more than he did,” the journalist penned.
Todd Matthew Grossman, a cameraman who was in the audition room at the time, told Buchanan for his book, “Jeremy and Armie were equally wonderful, but there was something about Tom in the room where it felt like that was Max, without a doubt.”
“[Hardy] had that kind of suppressed emotional dryness that you’d find in a post-apocalypse and, buried underneath it, disdain for the world. There was this intensity that burned through the lens,” Grossman added.
The Post has reached out to Hardy’s representatives for comment.
Miller — who created the “Mad Max” franchise — also noted, “I had the same feeling about Tom that I had when [original ‘Mad Max’ star] Mel Gibson first walked into the room: There was a kind of edgy charm, the charisma of animals. You don’t know what’s going on in their inner depths, and yet they’re enormously attractive.”
Casting director Ronna Kress also gave some insight into the action flick, explaining that she spoke with the Australian filmmaker about the “Inception” star’s performance.
“After Tom auditioned, George and I went into another room, and we had a long moment of quiet with each other,” she revealed. “Then I said to George, ‘Is this the person that you can spend nine months in the desert with, telling this story? Is this the person that’s right for you?'”
Apparently so.
A prequel film entitled “Furiosa” is set for a delayed premiere on May 24, 2024, and will feature “The Queen’s Gambit” star Anya Taylor-Joy.
“Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road” will be released on Feb. 22.