{"id":1488,"date":"2015-05-12T19:26:07","date_gmt":"2015-05-12T17:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=1488"},"modified":"2015-05-12T19:32:21","modified_gmt":"2015-05-12T17:32:21","slug":"mad-max-fury-road-qa-with-nicholas-hoult","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2015\/05\/12\/mad-max-fury-road-qa-with-nicholas-hoult\/","title":{"rendered":"Mad Max: Fury Road (Q&A With Nicholas Hoult)"},"content":{"rendered":"

With 36 years since the world was first introduced to Mad Max, and 30 since the last one in the series, finally the world gets to see more. This time, Max Rokatansky is not played be Mel Gibson, but rather the talented Tom Hardy, in the all new Mad Max: Fury Road<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The film opens 15 May 2015 in South African cinemas, in 3D. And, to whet your appetite, we have got our hands on an international\u00a0Q&A with actor Nicholas Hoult, playing the war boy Nux.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:\u00a0 Tell me a little bit about Nux and how you see his journey in the film? <\/strong><\/p>\n

NICHOLAS HOULT:\u00a0 Yeah, okay.\u00a0 Nux is a War Boy who is essentially one of the characters who works for the Immortan Joe.\u00a0 They have been brought up since they were young, working as War Pups and working with vehicles and stuff as mechanics.\u00a0 And Nux is fortunate in that he\u2019s worked up through those ranks to become a driver, which is kind of the most esteemed position you can get to.\u00a0 And then he\u2019s managed to become the driver of the fastest pursuit vehicle, so he\u2019s doing pretty well.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, [laughs] he\u2019s not too healthy when we first meet him.\u00a0 He\u2019s got his lumps and bumps, a bunch of tumors called Larry and Barry, which are kind of chewing away at his windpipe.\u00a0 And he\u2019s kind of on his last legs.\u00a0 It\u2019s pretty much all over for him.\u00a0 But then, essentially, once he hears Furiosa, Charlize [Theron]\u2019s character, has escaped from the Citadel with the Immortan\u2019s five wives, he\u2019s, like, \u2018Okay, this is a chance for me to go out in glory.\u2019\u00a0 Because these War Boys basically grow up believing that if they die in battle, in a brilliant way, they\u2019ll be witnessed and go to Valhalla and be remembered amongst the warriors of all time.\u00a0 So it\u2019s a good opportunity for him.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:\u00a0 What was it like to work with director George Miller, and your impressions of him after going on this journey with him to make this movie? <\/strong><\/p>\n

NICHOLAS HOULT:\u00a0 George is just one of the smartest, kindest people I\u2019ve ever known.\u00a0 He really is.\u00a0 When you listen to him talk, he starts off at point A and he goes through every other letter in the alphabet to get to point B.\u00a0 But along that, you learn so much. \u00a0He\u2019ll go off into a story about when he was a doctor, or when he was talking to this person, he learnt that.\u00a0 He\u2019s such a bank of knowledge.<\/p>\n

And even during the audition for this, it was this four-hour process thing.\u00a0 I remember then walking out with him thinking, like, no matter if I get this wrong, the experience I had in that room by lunch, how much we talked, was enough.\u00a0 To then be on set with him every day and see how he handled such a huge production\u2014to be in the middle of this huge storm, essentially\u2014but still managed to always be a gentleman and calm and collected and pure of thought was amazing.<\/p>\n

He can see every character\u2019s journey. \u00a0And he will come to you before a take and be, like, \u2018Okay, this is where we\u2019ve been up to this point.\u00a0 You did this and this.\u00a0 And don\u2019t forget that.\u2019\u00a0 And he just has just the sweetest way with people.\u00a0 But then he\u2019s also a mastermind where he comes up with crazy worlds like this and Babe<\/em> and Happy Feet<\/em>. \u00a0And you\u2019re, like, \u2018What\u2019s going on in your brain?\u2019\u00a0 It\u2019s remarkable.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:\u00a0 What was it like for you to walk on the set and drive the cars and just experience this immersive world around you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

NICHOLAS HOULT:\u00a0 When you first see it, you can\u2019t even begin to describe the vehicles they built and the thrill of it when you\u2019re sitting in amongst them and you hear all these massive engines roaring around.\u00a0 And you\u2019re flying through the desert.\u00a0 And there are hundreds of War Boys all dressed up acting with the gun.\u00a0 They\u2019re all hyped. \u00a0And you\u2019re in amongst it.\u00a0 And then you\u2019re in this beautiful landscape in Namibia where you\u2019re just kind of doing weird, crazy stuff.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to get carried away with it.\u00a0 [Laughs]<\/p>\n

QUESTION:\u00a0 Tell me about working with Charlize and Tom Hardy, who is reinventing Mad Max in this film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

NICHOLAS HOULT:\u00a0 It\u2019s fortunate for any actor, I think, to work with people who are so talented, that you look up to.\u00a0 Charlize has such a strong character and is so smart in all the choices she makes on set.\u00a0 But she\u2019s also fun.\u00a0 She\u2019s foul-mouthed. \u00a0[Laughs].\u00a0 And you can crack jokes, and she\u2019ll crack back.\u00a0 And then suddenly, she\u2019ll just switch it on.\u00a0 And you\u2019ll go, like, \u2018Whoa, hang on, okay?\u00a0 We\u2019re in a scene and you\u2019re smashing it.\u00a0 This is amazing.\u2019<\/p>\n

And here I\u2019ve got this and then another film thereafter with her, and it\u2019s just amazing to see how she transforms into each character, and how she is on set to bounce off and work with.\u00a0 She\u2019s also not selfish in scenes, not always thinking about herself, but thinking about the film and everyone else who is in the scene.\u00a0 So that was a treat.<\/p>\n

And then Tom is, I think, one of the most watchable actors around.\u00a0 I mean, you\u2019re never quite sure what he\u2019s going to do when you\u2019re watching him.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s what makes it so exciting to see him on screen. \u00a0And it\u2019s the same when you\u2019re doing scenes with him where he\u2019ll talk it through. \u00a0And he\u2019ll get this look in his eye when you\u2019re rehearsing. \u00a0You can see him calculating everything to figure everything out.\u00a0 And then an idea will come to mind.\u00a0 And then this and then that. \u00a0And then it kind of all forms around it. \u00a0And then suddenly, you\u2019re in it.\u00a0 And then he\u2019s bouncing off that, doing something different.\u00a0 And you\u2019re, like, \u2018Okay, this is cool, right?\u2019\u00a0 And he\u2019ll be, like, \u2018That\u2019s going to be great!\u2019\u00a0 [Laughs].\u00a0 Yeah, I can\u2019t describe it.\u00a0 But they\u2019re both fascinating to watch work.\u00a0 And, yeah, they\u2019re cool.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:\u00a0 You did some intense training with military guys for this role, and you wear crazy makeup.\u00a0 Can you talk about those aspects of playing this character? <\/strong><\/p>\n

NICHOLAS HOULT:\u00a0 Yeah.\u00a0 The training.\u00a0 Well, George got in touch a little bit before the film.\u00a0 \u2018Your character is meant to be dying, so you\u2019re unwell, but there\u2019s also not much food.\u2019\u00a0 So, training physically was also good training for that.<\/p>\n

All of those things kind of put you mentally in a way where, because you\u2019re physically prepared, you feel quite mentally prepared.\u00a0 And then with George\u2019s knowledge of the War Boy characters in this world, you\u2019ve got all this information and you\u2019re physically prepared. \u00a0And then you go in and they put this makeup on you and you try things out.\u00a0 And then suddenly, you\u2019re completely transformed.<\/p>\n

And then you\u2019re sitting back, \u2018Well, okay, I know all these things about this character. \u00a0I feel this character. \u00a0And then I look like the character.\u00a0 So I guess we should film it.\u2019<\/p>\n

QUESTION:\u00a0 You\u2019ve mentioned that you had two hours of makeup and Charlize just came in and smeared some black grease over her eyes, is that right? <\/strong><\/p>\n

NICHOLAS HOULT:\u00a0 Charlize mooches in an hour-forty-five later.\u00a0 Just rolled out of bed.\u00a0 Got your greasepaint.\u00a0 \u2018All right.\u00a0 Lovely. \u00a0Let\u2019s go to set.\u2019\u00a0 And I\u2019m, like, \u2018Oh, man.\u2019\u00a0 That\u2019s when you can tell the pros.\u00a0 I keep on falling for it\u2014long makeup. \u00a0I\u2019m sitting down each time, like, \u2018When will I learn that when they say there\u2019s a lot of makeup, I need to figure that out.\u2019<\/p>\n

QUESTION:\u00a0 Can you talk about some of the crazy action you saw while you were filming this movie, and was there ever a moment that was particularly intense or just took your breath away? <\/strong><\/p>\n

NICHOLAS HOULT:\u00a0 One of the main things I remember is just this huge truck, which is chasing me at one point.\u00a0 I\u2019m standing at the back of the War Rig, which is what Charlize is driving.\u00a0 So I\u2019m just poured at the back of that, and the camera\u2019s up there with me.\u00a0 And then there\u2019s this long shot where this truck is chasing us.\u00a0 It does this massive jump and then hits against this kind of cliff face, and I flip back in a somersault.\u00a0 And then the camera pulls back, and you see kind of me watching it. \u00a0So George is there, like, \u2018Okay, Nicholas, this is a big stunt.\u00a0 We\u2019ve probably only got one take of this.\u00a0 Don\u2019t screw up.\u2019\u00a0 And I\u2019m, like, \u2018Okay.\u2019<\/p>\n

And you\u2019re there and you\u2019re watching the stunt guys, all the drivers, getting prepped.\u00a0 Because it\u2019s completely against instinct to drive a truck into a wall. \u00a0That\u2019s not safe and not logical for your brain.\u00a0 So, everyone\u2019s getting set up and you do a practice run.<\/p>\n

And then it\u2019s that weird feeling where you feel as though you\u2019re a sportsman, and this is your final play to throw a touchdown, your Hail Mary.\u00a0 This is it.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got to hit it. \u00a0And then you\u2019re watching, you\u2019re watching\u2026 And you\u2019re, like, \u2018Okay, this is the take.\u00a0 We\u2019re rolling.\u2019\u00a0 You see the truck coming. \u00a0You see it flip. \u00a0And it\u2019s action.\u00a0 And you\u2019re, like, [gasps].\u00a0 And you\u2019re also just in awe of what\u2019s going on around you.\u00a0 <\/strong>And they have tiny little cameras in amongst us all.\u00a0 It was just remarkable. \u00a0Sometimes when I was driving my vehicle, you couldn\u2019t hear a thing.\u00a0 You\u2019d just be driving along, and then you\u2019d see them just cruise up alongside you with the camera right outside your door.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:\u00a0 Can you talk about the story and what resonated with you in terms of some of the themes in the film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

NICHOLAS HOULT:\u00a0 I guess it\u2019s just that hope and survival thing, that human instinct and spirit.\u00a0 Because this is a mad world they\u2019re living in, but they\u2019re still compassionate and in love.\u00a0 These characters are in life or death situations, but still kind of band together and make the best out of that situation.\u00a0 I like doing that.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:\u00a0 One last question:\u00a0 how awesome is this film on a scale of one to\u2014 <\/strong><\/p>\n

NICHOLAS HOULT:\u00a0 Ten.\u00a0 Whatever the scale is, it\u2019s a ten.<\/p>\n