Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Taught Anya Taylor-Joy an Important Life Skill

Summary

• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga opens in theaters today, May 24.
• Anya Taylor-Joy learned a crucial skill for her starring role in the film.
• The actress wasn't afraid to do her own stunts.

In one week, the spring of 2024, which has brought us several high-profile movie releases, will be over. Dune: Part Two, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and Kung Fu Panda 4 premiered in March and have become the highest-grossing films of the year to date, earning a combined total of over $1.8 billion at the box office. But even though the end is near, this spring has another blockbuster up its sleeve.

George Miller's Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga hits theaters today, May 24. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, the prequel to Fury Road, tells the origin story of Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa, the fierce warrior and one of Immortan Joe's closest allies.

Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland of a world, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga seems to have little in common with reality. But apparently, Anya Taylor-Joy learned an important skill on the set of the film.

Impressive Dedication

Any fan of Miller's Mad Max film series knows that each movie in the franchise is as much about the vehicles as it is about the characters. Each film features spectacular car races, chases, and fights that are just as important to the overall plot as the other, seemingly more essential events.

In that sense, knowing how to drive must be a prerequisite for Mad Max actors, right? But Anya Taylor-Joy didn't know how to drive when she accepted her starring role in Furiosa.

'I had never driven a car in my life [before Furiosa],' the actress revealed in a recent interview with Stepehn Colbert. 'When George Miller calls you and asks you, "Do you want to learn how to drive a car to be in Mad Max?" you say yes! And then you figure it out as you go along.'

Reckless Cool Driving

Currently, Anya Taylor-Joy, who learned to drive while preparing for and filming Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, considers herself 'a really good driver,' but she doesn't have her license yet. That, however, hasn't stopped her from driving impressive vehicles and performing all kinds of stunts in the movie.

'I'm driving some really cool vehicles in [Furiosa]. The first thing I ever learned how to do in a car is something called a juicy lift 1 AC – you just floor the accelerator, then you pull on the emergency brake, then you just go "Wham!", and eventually you stop,' Anya Taylor-Joy told Colbert. 'It's really fun.'

The funniest part is that not knowing how to drive wasn't Taylor-Joy's biggest concern when negotiating her role. With most of the filming taking place in the Australian desert, the actress, who has a naturally pale complexion, was more afraid of the scorching sun than the dangerous car stunts.

Now, Anya Taylor-Joy is planning to get her driver's license. But she admits that parallel parking scares her more than the stunts she did in the movie.

Source: YouTube.