20 Things You Didn't Know About Mad Max: Fury Road
19. Mel Gibson Was Set To Return
Mad Max, of course, was the film and role that would propel Mel Gibson from aspiring actor to global superstar, so it’s no surprise that he was set to slip back into the iconic leathers when Fury Road was in its earliest stages of development.
Despite recently graduating from Australia’s famed National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Gibson wasn’t even in the frame when George Miller began casting his dystopian revenge thriller and was merely accompanying a friend who had been called in to audition. Black and blue from having "took on half a rugby team" in a brawl the previous weekend, Gibson’s appearance caught the eye of casting agents who invited him back because “[they] need freaks in this film.”
A healed-up Gibson returned as instructed, met with Miller and changed the course of both their lives thereafter.
So when the vision of Fury Road refused to leave Miller’s head, it’s only natural that Gibson was set to reprise his most famous role until a string of scandals in his personal life made him persona non grata in Tinseltown. Says Miller:
“I have a great affection for Mel. I was really heartbroken to see him go into that. But it's a new time. I hope Mel gets to act in more movies because I think he's a wonderful actor.”