If there was just one word to describe the on-screen performances of Tom Hardy, then one would struggle to find one more fitting than “intense”. After all, some of Hardy’s most acclaimed and memorable roles have seen the London-born actor deliver moments of striking intensity that can put a range of emotions into an audience.

After making his film debut in Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down, Hardy began to cement himself as one of the United Kingdom’s biggest movie stars, appearing in the likes of RocknRolla, Bronson, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Lawless, Locke, The Revenant as well as a number of movies for Christopher Nolan, proving his excellent reputation in the film industry.

While such films showcase Hardy’s intense performances, this vigour sometimes caused problems on set. This was evident when he took on the role of ‘Mad’ Max Rockatansky in George Miller’s 2015 post-apocalyptic action film Mad Max: Fury Road, a character previously portrayed by Mel Gibson.

The film saw Rockatansky team up with Imperator Furiosa for a battle against Immortan Joe in a dry and desolate post-apocalyptic desert wasteland. Furiosa was played by Charlize Theron, and although both her and Hardy’s performances were praised, there was a feud that arose between the two actors, one that occasionally overshadowed the film’s brilliance.

Hardy was said to have become “aggressive” towards Theron during the film’s production, especially when Theron accused him of being “disrespectful” and oblivious to wasting the cast and crew’s time by showing up late. After calling him a “fucking cunt”, Hardy “charged up” to Theron, and later, Theron requested a female producer to join the shoot in order to de-escalate the tension on set.

In retrospect, Hardy understood that he had behaved in an unacceptable manner and admitted that he felt a sense of remorse at how the shoot had gone down. In Kyle Buchanan’s Blood, Sweat and Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, Hardy is quoted as admitting that he was “over my head in many ways.”

“The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times,” the actor had noted (via Vanity Fair). “What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced partner in me. That’s something that can’t be faked. I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.” Evidently, Hardy felt huge regret over Mad Max: Fury Road and would have liked to have an older head on his shoulders at the time.

Later, director George Miller spoke of how the tension between the two actors arose and how the differences in their acting styles contributed to the trouble production. “Tom has a damage to him but also a brilliance that comes with it, and whatever was going on with him at the time, he had to be coaxed out of his trailer,” Miller had told The Telegraph.

According to Miller, Theron was “incredibly disciplined”, during the shoot and had far more professionalism and control, with the director noting, “[She is] a dancer by training, which told in the precision of her performance – and [was] always the first one on set.” So whatever went down on Mad Max: Fury Road seemed to largely be down to the aggression of Hardy, although at least he recognised his mistake.