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EXCLUSIVE: George Miller Talks About Working With Chris Hemsworth In Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga; Says He Reminded Him Of ‘Young Mel Gibson’
In an exclusive in-depth conversation with Pinkvilla, acclaimed filmmaker George Miller talked about meeting Chris Hemsworth for the first time, revealed how he cast him on Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and shared how he reminded him of a young Mel Gibson.
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George Miller talks about meeting Chris Hemsworth for the first time
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George Miller reveals why Chris Hemsworth reminded him of a young Mel Gibson
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George Miller shares how he cast Chris Hemsworth in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Academy Award-winning director George Miller’s highly-anticipated Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is all set to hit the screens on May 24, 2024. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth in lead roles, the film will mark a return to the iconic dystopian world Miller created more than 40 years ago with the seminal Mad Max films. Ahead of the release of the movie, George Miller exclusively spoke to Pinkvilla about working with Chris Hemsworth in the much-awaited prequel and even shared how the Thor star reminded him of working with a 'young Mel Gibson.'
In the film, Hemsworth plays the role of Warlord Dementus, who leads the great Biker Horde group of marauders. As the world falls, a young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa is tasked to survive many trials while putting together the means to find her way home.
George Miller reveals how he met Chris Hemsworth before casting him in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
During an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, George Miller revealed how he decided to cast Chris Hemsworth as Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. "I’ve obviously known of Chris and it was in quite an interesting way," the director began. "Way back when we made the very first Mad Max, we had a group of bikers play the bikers under the Toecutter, played by Hugh Keays-Byrne," he added. "They weren’t heavy-duty sort of Hells Angels type bike gang involved in crime. They were a group of people who rode bikes around rural Victoria," Miller explained.
"And if you remember Mad Max, there was a dog called Wonder Dog that would ride on the back of bikes, and it was owned collectively by the group," he continued. "And years later, one of the people of that biker group, Dale Bensch, who did some stunts on the first Mad Max, showed me a picture with the Wonder Dog. And there amongst them was this man called Hemsworth, Chris’ father," Miller revealed.
The director went on to share that Hemsworth’s parents "were both social workers dealing with children who were abused" and said that they were "pioneers" in the area in terms of "social work." Miller further mentioned that he eventually met Hemsworth "years and years later" but did not know "anything about him."
Speaking about their first meet, Miller said, "From the get-go in the first meeting, I could see that he was incredibly considerate about the world, very observant, very quick to study anything and really had a lot." The filmmaker also mentioned that Hemsworth was "very, very self-aware, understood who he was and how he was perceived by others."
Miller shared that he spoke with Hemsworth about charisma and mentioned that the latter said, "'There has to be humor. You need humor to be charismatic. You might look brilliant in a still frame, but talking and walking, most leaders—and I’m sure there are exceptions—have the ability to enchant people in some way.'"
George Miller reveals why Chris Hemsworth reminded him of a young Mel Gibson
While speaking to Pinkvilla, George Miller shared how Chris Hemsworth understood the character of Dementus "straight away" right after he was asked to read the screenplay. "And what I came to see in the process of making the film is a very talented, gifted actor, highly intelligent in the broadest sense," Miller said. "He not only knew what he had to do, to achieve that character, but he understood very much how it fitted into the context of the whole story," he stated.
The Mad Max creator also revealed how he began relying on Hemsworth while filming Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. "He understood his character such that I began to rely on him whenever he would say, 'I think Dementus would do this…' And suddenly, it became more than serving his performance or the characters, but serving the deeper narrative of the story," Miller explained.
"Time and again, he was coming up with this sort of stuff," the director said, adding, "It reminded me a lot of working with Mel Gibson when he was young." Explaining why Hemsworth reminded him of a young Gibson, Miller shared, "Chris was always on set. He wouldn’t go back to his trailer. He’d come on set, he’d sit there. He had a group of people around him, essentially his biker gang, and he was always interacting with them, always prepared. And he was watching everything that was happening. And that’s what Mel did."
Miller revealed how Gibson was "always on set" back in the days of Mad Max and Mad Max 2 when they did not have trailers in Australia. "One day I turned to him and he was just watching and I said, 'Mel, you’re going to direct, aren’t you?' And he nodded," Miller recalled. Talking about the similarities between Hemsworth and Gibson, Miller shared, "Mel became a great director, and I observe that same quality is there in Chris. He understands how everything works."
George Miller shares why Chris Hemsworth was perfect for the role of Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
During the conversation, Miller also shared why Hemsworth was perfect to take on the role of Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. "Of course, he’s very physically gifted, doing all his own stunts and constantly riding motorbikes in his real life, surfing, doing all that sort of stuff. And so he was ideal for this character," he shared. "Once I met Chris, saw his response and understood what he was thinking and the way that dovetailed, I thought, 'Okay, he’s the one who should take on Dementus,'" Miller stated.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, directed by George Miller, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, in theaters pan India on May 24, 2024 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
ALSO READ: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga; Everything We Know About The Prequel Amid New Poster Release
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