How Chris Hemsworth Developed His Furiosa Villain For Mad Max Prequel Movie

Summary

• Chris Hemsworth developed Warlord Dementus by journaling as the character, finding a demented mindset with director George Miller’s help.
• Hemsworth sports a new look and attitude in
  Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
  as he kidnaps the character played by Anya Taylor-Joy.
• Set over 16 years, the
  Fury Road
  prequel movie portrays Dementus as a villainous character, different from any role Hemsworth has played.

Chris Hemsworth explains how he developed the villainous Warlord Dementus for the prequel movie Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The Thor actor sports a very different look and attitude in the upcoming George Miller-directed Mad Max franchise entry, donning a fake nose and scraggly beard to play a wasteland warrior alongside Anya Taylor-Joy’s Furiosa. Set over the course of 16 years, the Fury Road prequel movie sees Hemsworth’s Dementus kidnapping a young Furiosa, and later becoming the enemy of iconic bad guy Immortan Joe.

Dementus is indeed a more villainous character than Hemsworth has ever played, and in a recent interview, the star revealed the interesting approach he used to get inside the warlord’s head, telling Total Film (via GamesRadar) how director Miller helped him find his way into the right demented mindset. Check out his remarks below:

“George suggested to me to journal as the character, which I hadn’t done before. It was 2am one night. I was awake, and I just put pen to paper, and just started scribbling down thoughts and ideas as Dementus. I didn’t think much of it. I went to sleep, and woke up, and was quite shocked at what came out of me in that half-asleep state. I went into rehearsal, and showed George, and we both went, ‘That’s it. That’s the direction we’ve got to go.'”

How Warlord Dementus Takes Advantage Of Hemsworth’s Charisma In A New Way

The MCU’s Thor could have been a dreadfully boring character, but Hemsworth’s natural charm infused the superhero with a winning quality that stole the hearts of audiences. The charisma that helped Hemsworth bring Thor to life will be deployed in a very different way in Furiosa, as he plays a character who is not lovable and heroic, but brutal and horrific. Hemsworth himself described Warlord Dementus‘ combination of violence and charisma in an interview with Variety, saying:

“He’s a complicated individual. He’s a very violent, insane, brutal person that is born from the Wasteland, which is the world the ‘Mad Max’ saga takes place in. He’s a product of his environment. He has been birthed into a space where it’s kill or be killed. He’s learned to rule with an iron fist. There’s a charisma to him and it’s a very manipulative charisma.”

Those who fell in love with Hemsworth as Thor should prepare themselves to see a very different side of the actor when he brings Dementus to life in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Though Dementus is the flipside of Thor in many ways, possessing none of the Marvel character’s upstanding and noble qualities, he is similar to Asgard’s greatest hero in his ability to turn on the charm.

Mad Max: Fury Road
is available to watch on Hulu.

Dementus uses his charisma in more evil and manipulative ways than Thor, however, and in order to play this, Hemsworth needed extra help to get in touch with the darker side of his nature. It seems he got that help from Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga director Miller, whose interesting advice allowed his star to unlock parts of himself that he may not have known were there.

Source: Total Film (via GamesRadar)