Tom Hardy Is Terrified of Heights

The latest addition to George Miller's iconic Mad Max franchise is about to hit theaters in the form of Mad Max: Fury Road. The latest iteration doesn't star Mel Gibson, but instead ushers in Tom Hardy in the title role, along side Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Watching one of the handful of trailers released in support of the film will offer several takeaways. One, Max doesn't really talk (truly, he doesn't. The film's dialogue is very baron, like its post-apocalyptic landscape). Two, it is nonstop action from start to finish. And three, the film showcases an impressive number of physical feats. From hanging underneath running cars to hanging upside down in cages, the cast of Mad Max was put in their fair share of compromising positions.

Max himself, as played by Hardy, had a handful of challenging stunts to attempt. Because a man who has lived to survive the dog-eat-dog world of dust and bloodshed probably has a few physical tricks up his sleeve. One stunt that had Hardy in a tizzy, however, involved swinging across the frame on a tall, thin pole. And unfortunately for the actor, heights is not his strong suit. "I’m not very good with heights, so the scaffolding pole was a bit of a mouthful," Hardy admits. Here's an example of the stunt in question:

Hardy explains how the stunt went down, when he went to Australia to reshoot the seemingly terrifying stunt. "We were set up in a parking lot," he says. "There's a photograph of Doug Mitchell holding my hand. I was like, ‘I really don’t want to go up the scaffolding pole, I really don’t.’ He just held my hand."

I sincerely hope that photo becomes available to the public. He continues: "Then it was a lonely walk up to my cherry picker. There’s only about 7 inches out on the pole to put your feet on it. And it’s quite lonely... And there's no one up there to complain to. And it lasts as long as it lasts really. That was fun."

See Mad Max: Fury Road in theaters May 15.

Images: Warner Bros.; YouTube