Gal Gadot Was Almost Furiosa In ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’
Before she donned the trademark wrist bands and Themysciran battle armor ofWonder Woman,Gal Gadotalmost made the cut to play another recent female cinematic icon, Furiosa inMad Max: Fury Road. Instead, it wasCharlize Theronwho nabbed the role and whose critically acclaimed performance as Furiosa gave her a second-wind career boost.
Alas, this was one of the rejections thatalmost spurred Gadot to quit the Hollywood businessaltogether, as she confessed a few months ago, before she landed the coveted role of Wonder Woman and stole the scenes in her debut as the female superhero inBatman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. The rest, as they say it, is history.
Gadot revealed in an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” Podcastthat she was the runner-up to play Furiosa, the oil-rig driving warrior ofMad Max: Fury Roadwho stole the scenes fromTom Hardy’s Mad Max in the acclaimed, Oscar-nominated action film.
She closed in on the role just off her departure from theFast and Furiousfranchise, where she also played the mechnically-inclined Gisele — which may have helped put her name in the running. But despite being a player in one of the biggest blockbuster franchises in the world, Gadot was still a relative unknown next to the other actress vying for the role: Charlize Theron. Gadot told the podcast:
“I had so manyalmostsfor big, great things, but I was never big enough of a name… It was always me and ‘the big name.'”
But things have a way of coming around, and Gadot soon landed the role of Wonder Woman in the DC Extended Universe — right before she was ready to quit the acting business and return home to Israel with her family. When Snyder told her she got the part forBatman v Superman, she was overjoyed because of “everything that [Wonder Woman] represents,” Gadot said. “For me it was like, ‘Oh, my God, that was my dream role!'”
And because Hollywood is a small world after all, connections keep turning up.Patty Jenkins, who directed Theron’s Oscar-winning turn inMonster, signed on to helmWonder Woman’s solo feature and Theron appeared in this year’sFate of theFurious, the latest chapter in the franchise that helped Gadot break into Hollywood.And this is before you remember that Gadot was forced to turn down the the role of Faora, the lead henchwoman inMan of Steel, because she was pregnant. Better DCEU roles come to those who wait, it seems.
So it all worked out in the end, and now Gadot is the face of DC Film’soptimistic pivot awayfrom its initial dark and gritty angle, gaining a larger role in the upcomingJustice Leagueand presumably a bigger paycheck forWonder Woman 2afterWonder Womanswept away the competitionat the box office this summer.
