George Miller’s anticipated Mad Max: Fury Road prequel, Furiosa, isn’t far away. While we know Anya Taylor-Joy will play a young Furiosa, with Chris Hemsworth as the villain Dementus, one question has remained a mystery. Who is the actor playing a younger version of Immortan Joe, the insane warlord previously played by the late actor Hugh Keays-Byrne? Well, now we know the answer.
Empire has learned that another Aussie actor, Lachy Hulme, will play Immortan Joe in Furiosa. Joe was a major player in the first movie but will have more of a supporting role this time.
Hulme already had a role in Furiosa as Rizzdale Pell, a member of Dementus’ gang, but will now pull double-duty as Immortan Joe. And it turns out that Hulme personally lobbied Miller for the job to honor Keays-Byrne…
“He said, ‘I’ll probably just get a body double’ I said, ‘Well, somebody needs to step up for Hugh. Someone needs to honour this great man. I can do it. I can do the voice. And it’s all in the eyes.”
Hulme continued, “He said, ‘Do you want to do it?’ I said, ‘What took you so long? You’ve finally figured out that this movie ain’t gonna make dollar one until you’ve got double Lachy Hulme in it!’”
Miller does know Hulme well, having worked with him on last year’s Three Thousand Years of Longing. Hulme also played the role of Sparks in two Matrix movies.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga hits theaters on May 24th.
