Tom Hardy in a scene from Mad Max: Fury Road. Photo / AP
Tom Hardy in a scene from Mad Max: Fury Road. Photo / AP
He has taken on the lead role in film franchise Mad Max.
But British actor Tom Hardy has revealed that meeting the man whose shoes he filled, Mel Gibson, was an "awkward" experience.
The frank admission comes as the 37 year-old stare poses shirtless in a rugged photoshoot for the May issue of Details magazine.
Speaking about the exchange, he said: "I met Mel. I needed to meet Mel purely from a young man's perspective. I wanted to touch base with the previous Max and just say hello."
He added: "And is it okay? Because I'm taking on Max, I have to meet Max. It's awkward. 'You're Mad Max. I'm Tommy Hardy, and I'm playing him.'"
"He was bored with me. He said, 'All right, buddy, good luck with that.' Bless him. I made him a bracelet. And then we talked for a couple of hours about all kinds of stuff.
I left, and that was that. And then he called up my agent and said: 'I think you found someone that's crazier than I am'".
Still, Tom also waxed lyrical about why he was so keen to play the role.
"Mad Max is, like, the coolest superhero that a boy could get. 'Cause there's no cape, there's no rubber suit. There's no flying. Nothing really hurts Batman or Superman. Everything hurts in Mad Max. Remember Indiana Jones when he hated snakes? He was scared.
"Those kind of heroes, they excite me because they are ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. They are fallible. And when they jump, they're not sure if they're going to make it to the other side. And then it doesn't stop. I mean, Mad Max is really just an old man trying to go home."
Directed by Australian George Miller, the fourth film will be screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival in France ahead of its worldwide release.
A scene from Mad Max: Fury Road. Photo / AP
Miller has described Mad Max: Fury Road as an extended chase taking place over three days.
