10 Best Performances In The Mad Max Franchise, Ranked

The Mad Max franchise contains some excellent and intense performances. The earlier Mad Max movies appeared to be more of a gritty and dystopian epic, with more of a focus on stunts and imagery than character, but things have changed. There are five movies in the Mad Max saga, while the Mel Gibson Mad Max movies became cult hits, Mad Max: Fury Road changed the game. Fury Road significantly expanded the wasteland universe of Mad Max, introducing new cultures, characters, and possibilities for the franchise.

Each original Mad Max movie took Max to a different place. However, the world of Fury Road had so much potential that the most recent two movies have been set in the same area of the wasteland, with finally some sense of continuity. The best Mad Max villains have always been exciting and memorable, even outshining Max at times, but the most recent movies have included some genuinely emotive moments that the first two sequels lacked.

10

Bruce Spence

Played The Gyro Captain & Jedediah

A still image from Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. Max, played by Mel Gibson, looks through binoculars as the Gyro Captain watches.

Bruce Spence first appeared as the Gyro Captain in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, and while his character is nameless, he is certainly memorable. The Gyro Captain is a perfect example of one of the eccentric and morally ambiguous characters that characterize the Mad Max franchise. Bruce Spence brings an excitable demeanor to his character which makes him likable even before he becomes Max’s ally, and he is the first actor to appear in more than one Mad Max movie.

George Miller has confirmed that the two are not the same person, but that did not stop fans from creating tributes to the characters as though they were.

Bruce Spence plays Jedediah in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, who is a similar character to the Gyro Captain. George Miller has confirmed that the two are not the same person, but that did not stop fans from creating tributes to the characters as though they were. Bruce Spence was so good at embodying the spirit of the Mad Max movies that he is tributed in Fury Road when the Gyro Captain’s helmet appears to decorate a car.

9

Vernon Wells

Played Wez

Wez in Mad Max 2

Wez is the main henchman to the villainous Lord Humungus in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, but he tends to steal any scene that he is in. Wez might not have many lines, but Vernon Wells easily portrays a range of emotions, which is not easy to do with a character who is essentially a violent caricature. When the Golden Youth is killed, Wez’s devastated reaction caused many to speculate on their relationship, though Wells had put so much thought into his character that he had the answers.

Wells explained that the relationship was like a father and son and that Wez had saved the Golden Youth as a child. This was not the only detail that Wells knew about his character’s backstory, as he had created an entire history at George Miller’s request. According to Wells, Wez had been a Vietnam War veteran before the events of the Mad Max movies, and this experience informed his character’s actions during Mad Max 2.

8

Tina Turner

Played Auntie Entity

Tina Turner as Auntie Entity in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome wearing chain mail and huge looping metallic earrings, gesturing for everyone to quiet down while addressing a crew of post-apocalyptic warriors decked out in improvised armor

Tina Turner was at the height of her music career when she played the iconic Auntie Entity in Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome, and her character was a new challenge for Turner. Turner had played small parts in movies, but Auntie Entity was her biggest character yet. George Miller told Time Out magazine that Turner was cast as Auntie Entity due to her “positive persona” and the fact that both Turner and Entity are survivors, with Turner’s escape from domestic abuse being well documented.

Immortan Joe Lord Humungus Aunty Entity Mad Max

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Tina Turner contributed a great deal to her character, shaving her head for the wig, wearing a full metal outfit that reportedly weighed around 55 kilograms, and even recording two songs for the movie. The most famous of these is “We Don’t Need Another Hero.” Turner brought all of her stage presence to the role of Auntie Entity, and despite the physical discomfort of the role, she stole the show, becoming one of the most memorable Mad Max villains of all time.

7

Chris Hemsworth

Played Dementus

Dr. Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga might have been a box office flop, but this is generally considered to be due to fake-looking special effects, rather than the acting. Chris Hemsworth’s casting as the Mad Max villain Dementus raised a few eyebrows, but he is virtually unrecognizable, playing the larger-than-life character with a fake nose and a sense of humor. Hemsworth is having the time of his life, including wearing a teddy bear, huge goggles, and a Thor-esque cape.

Despite Hemsworth’s many noteworthy movies, many reviews of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga have described Chris Hemsworth’s performance as a career-best. Hemsworth’s portrayal of Dementus was one of the best things about Furiosa and one of the best villains of the year. Though Furiosa included some Thor easter eggs with Dementus’s billowing cape, Hemsworth made the character stand out, without his prior role overshadowing his part in the movie.

6

Anya Taylor-Joy

Played Furiosa

close up of Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) gripping a revolver in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Charlize Theron’s performance as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road was going to be hard to beat, and though many viewers had hoped that Theron would reprise her role as Furiosa, it was not to be. When Anya Taylor-Joy was cast, she had a difficult task ahead of her. Taylor-Joy was not a likely candidate for the part, with a history of playing less physical characters. That said, Taylor-Joy made the role her own, which was an impressive feat.

Anya Taylor-Joy’s portrayal of Furiosa impressed audiences, especially due to her dedication to the role.

She trained for a year so that she could do many of her own stunts for the movie, which included learning to ride a motorcycle though she had no driving license. While her physical transformation did not include shaving her head due to time constraints, Taylor-Joy’s portrayal of Furiosa showed viewers a new side to her, likely opening the door for more action movies in her career.

5

Hugh Keays-Byrne

Played Toecutter & Immortan Joe

Hugh Keays-Byrne as Immortan Joe Leading His Army in Mad Max Fury Road

Hugh Keays-Byrne is one of the few actors who have appeared in multiple Mad Max movies, and likely the best-known. He first played the antagonistic biker leader Toecutter in the original 1979 Mad Max and then returned to play an even more imposing character several decades later. Keays-Byrne plays the terrifying warlord Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road. The character was so popular that he had a major role in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, though Lachy Hulme played him as Keays-Byrne had passed away.

Immortan Joe with another classic Mad Max villain.

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The original Mad Max movies had few prosthetics and usually stuck to practical effects, so Toecutter looked like a regular (if disheveled) person. However, by the time Mad Max: Fury Road was filmed, there had been great advances in visual effects, and Immortan Joe was barely recognizable as human. It is a challenge for any actor to outshine layers of prosthetics, but Hugh Keays-Byrne not only managed it but made Immortan Joe unforgettable.

4

Tom Hardy

Played Max Rockatansky

Tom Hardy as Max aiming a gun with a mask on in Mad Max: Fury Road

Despite Max Rockatansky being the antihero of the Mad Max franchise, he is famously stoic, with very few lines. Max has never had any more than 90 lines of dialogue in any of the Mad Max movies, which means that the actor playing Max must be compelling without speaking. This requirement was even more of a challenge for Tom Hardy, as he spent most of Mad Max: Fury Road wearing a muzzle and speaks the fewest lines in any Mad Max movie in which Max is a main character.

As the first actor to play Max since Mel Gibson, Hardy also had to convey the personality and history of the character while making the role his own. Hardy was concerned about being compared to Gibson, but while that was inevitable, the comparison was generally extremely positive. Tom Hardy shone playing Max and even won awards for his portrayal of the legendary Road Warrior, including the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actor.

3

Nicholas Hoult

Played Nux

Nux with shiny chrome around his mouth in Mad Max: Fury Road.

Before the franchise was changed forever with Mad Max: Fury Road, the Mad Max movies were generally more awe-inspiring than tear-jerking. Fury Road added a new dimension to Max’s story, with characters that viewers grew to identify with. Nux is one of the most beloved characters in the Mad Max franchise and undergoes an extreme transformation. Nicholas Hoult makes Nux’s character arc from being part of Immortan Joe’s War Boys to a hero fighting for the good side compelling and tragic.

Nux’s death is one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the franchise, due to Hoult’s portrayal of the character.

The War Boys’ self-sacrificing culture could have been portrayed as even more disturbing, but Nicholas Hoult portrays Nux in a surprisingly wholesome way. It is his enthusiasm for the smaller moments in life and desire to make something of his life that makes him extremely relatable, even in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Mad Max: Fury Road. Nux’s death is one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the franchise, due to Hoult’s portrayal of the character.

2

Mel Gibson

Played Max Rockatansky

Mad Max, played by Mel Gibson, standing in the middle of a desert wasteland in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.

The question of who plays Max Rockatansky better is often debated, with both Mel Gibson and Tom Hardy bringing different strengths to the character. That said, without Mel Gibson playing Max in the first three movies, there would be no Mad Max franchise at all, making his performance one of the best and most essential out of all the Mad Max movies. Tom Hardy’s performance might have been more nuanced, but Gibson’s portrayal of Max was the basis for the franchise.

The Mad Max franchise changed significantly after the first movie, with the original film being much more realistic. Many people think of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior as the typical Mad Max movie. However, this ignores the first movie, which is essential viewing to understand why Mel Gibson’s performance is so great. Gibson shows Max’s change from a more emotionally open and righteously angry person to the closed-off and hopeless antihero that Max is best remembered as.

1

Charlize Theron

Played Furiosa

Furiosa (Charlize Theron) glares to the side while seated inside her car in Mad Max: Fury Road

Imperator Furiosa is arguably the Mad Max franchise’s most iconic character and the best thing about the reboot. Mysterious characters like Furiosa can often be so enigmatic that they become uninteresting, but Charlize Theron was magnetic in the role. She perfectly walked the line between stoicism and emotion, giving the impression that there was a painful backstory to the character, which is hinted at during the powerful scene in which she walks into the desert after discovering that the “Green Place” no longer exists.

Mad Max: Fury Road is a movie in which the title character is not the protagonist, with Furiosa often outshining Max in their scenes together. Theron won multiple awards for her performance as Furiosa and received overwhelmingly positive mentions in critical reviews. Though there are many fascinating characters in the Mad Max saga, Furiosa was the first (and so far, only) character to have her own spin-off, and this is thanks to Charlize Theron’s performance.

Source: Time Out

Mad Max Poster Showing Mel Gibson Holding a Shotgun in Front of Bikers

Mad Max

Mad Max is an Australian post-apocalyptic franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. The first three films star Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky, a former police officer who seeks revenge after his family is murdered. Tom Hardy took over the role for 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, which was followed by Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa.

Movie(s)

Mad Max
, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
, Mad Max: Fury Road
, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
, Mad Max: The Wasteland

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