Charlize Theron addresses rumours of rift with Tom Hardy during Mad Max filming

Charlize Theron has addressed the rumours surrounding her working relationship with Tom Hardy.

Theron and Hardy took the lead roles in last year’s box office hit Mad Max: Fury Road. Since filming begun in 2013, rumours that the pair didn’t get on circulated with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton claiming a source told him Theron struggled with Hardy’s “method acting”.

Addressing the “clashes” they supposedly had during their gruelling filming schedule, Theron said their tense relationship enabled them to transcend it on to the screen and produce a better film.

“From what I hear, he’s not like that on every movie - I hear he’s had good experiences,” she told the Wall Street Journal. “Maybe the movie is what it is because we struggled so much with each other, and those characters had to struggle so much with each other. If we were chum-chum, maybe the movie would have been 10 times worse.”

Director George Miller also said their on-screen relationship was similar to the “trajectory” of their off-screen one.

“I’m not saying that they were seething right through, but the trajectory of the characters can’t help but seep into the work. When they first meet each other, they’re trying to kill each other. As the two characters come together out of necessity and rather reluctantly, they have to find a degree of trust. And to some extent that was the trajectory of their relationship as well.”

Hardy shared his thoughts on Theron in 2014 when asked about the supposed feud: “I think she’s f***ing awesome. I think she’s incredible. I think she’s one of the most talented actresses of our generation”, he told Esquire.

Last year, when Theron told Esquire the pair “drove each other crazy” but also respect one another she apparently presented a self-portrait Hardy had painted for her with a note saying: “You are an absolute nightmare, BUT you are also f***ing awesome. I’ll kind of miss you. Love, Tommy.”