Anya Taylor-Joy and Charlize Theron share an interesting connection that makes their casting as Furiosa even more interesting. Serving as the fifth installment in the Mad Max movie franchise, Furiosa stars Anya Taylor-Joy as its titular character. However, before The Menu star took the role in the franchise, Charlize Theron played a more mature version of Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road. Both actresses are perfectly suitable for the role in their own unique ways, bringing distinct interpretations to different periods in the character’s journey.
While Charlize Theron perfectly portrays how the sands of time have calloused Furiosa, Anya Taylor-Joy captures her character’s youthful hope of returning home. However, despite bringing two distinguishable versions of the same character to the big screen, Anya Taylor-Joy and Charlize Theron have one thing in common. This common element between the two also surprisingly played a crucial role in their casting.
Many factors might have contributed to Anya Taylor-Joy and Charlize Theron’s casting in the Mad Max movies. However, as George Miller himself revealed (via Deadline), the two actresses share one trait that was crucial to their selection: both have a background in ballet. While filming Happy Feet, George Miller worked with several dancers because the movie’s entire storyline revolves around a tap-dancing penguin. His experiences helped him realize that dancers are both emotionally and physically disciplined — two qualities he wanted to see in the actress who portrayed Furiosa.
Long before Charlize Theron played Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road, she attended New York’s Joffrey Ballet School and considered pursuing ballet as a career before a knee injury forced her to quit. Luckily for her, her early ballet years paved the way for her Furiosa casting. Similarly, Anya Taylor-Joy studied ballet till the age of 15, which seemingly helped her acquire the discipline George Miller seemingly expected to see in Furiosa’s characterization.
Since Furiosa serves as a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, it features a much younger version of Furiosa. George Miller would have considered de-aging Charlize Theron by using VFX. However, he was not too pleased with the results The Irishman and Gemini Man had achieved with existing de-aging technology (via Variety). Given how Miller is known for resorting to practical effects more than CGI, it makes sense that he did not want to rely too much on de-aging tools. Hopefully, Charlize Theron’s Furiosa will get the opportunity to shine again in George Miller’s other planned installments for the Mad Max franchise.