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Tom Burke Reveals Anya Taylor Joy, George Miller And He 'Wrestled' With The Romance In Furiosa
Tom Burke's journey to Praetorian Jack in Furiosa was unexpected. After missing Fury Road, Burke landed the role when Yahya Abdul-Mateen II exited. All about his bond with Anya Taylor-Joy!
Tom Burke's road to playing Praetorian Jack in the highly anticipated Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga wasn't straightforward. After a crowded, leather-jacket-clad audition for Fury Road didn't pan out, Burke almost missed out on Furiosa too. But when Yahya Abdul-Mateen II exited the project, director George Miller reached out, surprising Burke, who didn’t know Miller was aware of his work.
With past roles in Mank and The Souvenir, Burke has steadily climbed toward leading-man status. In Furiosa his character's complex relationship with Anya Taylor-Joy’s Furiosa adds a unique depth to the action-packed narrative.
Tom Burke never imagined playing Praetorian Jack
He auditioned for Fury Road long before he was cast as Praetorian Jack in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. “It was one of those auditions that felt like a lottery,” he says. "I arrived, and there was a queue of actors waiting to go in—men and women all wearing leather jackets.”
Neither Fury Road nor Furiosa was in his plans. But when Yahya Abdul-Mateen II dropped out of George Miller's highly anticipated prequel, Burke was informed by his agent that Miller wanted to Zoom with him. 'I didn't know George Miller knew who I was,' he says.
With scene-stealing performances in films such as Mank where he portrayed Orson Welles and The Souvenir, Joanna Hogg's semi-autobiographical film costarring Burke as a nightmare of a boyfriend despite his heroin addiction, Burke has been quietly advancing towards leading man status. While the posh British hallways of Hogg's feature seem worlds apart from the Wasteland of Mad Max, Burke himself sees a connection.
The first time Anya Taylor-Joy's Furiosa encounters Praetorian Jack is after stowing away on his War Rig, which he is driving from Immortan Joe's Citadel to Gastown. During one of the film's most breathtaking action sequences, she aids him in fending off rogue attackers. However, she is thrown out of the War Rig when she tries to hijack it from him in her quest to return home. Furiosa still manages to impress him. So Jack pulls over, promising to teach her everything she needs to know about road wars. He will let her go on her mission after she assists him.
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What's cooking between Jack and Furiosa?
It is unclear whether Furiosa and Jack's relationship will blossom into a full-fledged romance. We see them grow close and embrace, holding each other's heads in a manner typical of Furiosa's clan, but we never see them kiss. In Burke's account, there was much debate over how explicit they would be about their relationship.
"In the first draft I read, it was happening earlier, and I felt that wasn't great since the deal had already been made," he said. "Also, what are these people even feeling available to? Maybe they're both a bit asexual at first.”
It was Burke, Miller, and Taylor-Joy who "wrestled out the whole thing," discussing all the possible outcomes of the relationship. There was something of a romance between them, Miller insisted. Burke argued that the two of them should push romance to the side until they believe they are riding off to somewhere safer. Taylor-Joy saw it as a kind of marriage, but in a "weird environment," where one must be cautious. According to him, it was the most romantic version.
The escape goes horribly wrong when the villainous Dementus, played by Chris Hemsworth, catches up with them. By chaining Jack to the back of a bike and forcing him to run behind the wheel until he is no longer able to stand, he condemns Jack to death. It took Burke himself two circuits behind the bike per shot, he says. It's true he didn't do as many takes as his stunt double, but the actor says he needed to see a chiropractor the night they shot that scene.
Burke was told that both of Praetorian Jack's parents were in the military and knew Immortan Joe. Burke then took that material to one of his old drama school teachers so that he could delve deeper into the character's emotional journey. He also consulted with action designer and Mad Max vet Guy Norris about the physicality of the War Rig before production began, so that Burke would know what kind of gym work to do. The answer was, “All the usual stuff, but there was quite a bit of humbling around as well.”
There is barely any dialogue between Furiosa and Jack, and we don't even see him train her in the ways of the Wasteland.
ALSO READ: Furiosa: What Happened To Scrotus As He Skips Fury Road? Here's What We Know
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