what could've been

Gal Gadot Was Mad Max: Fury Road’s Second Choice for Furiosa

Gal Gadot. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Before she became the titular Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot was ready to quit acting. On The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, Gadot told Scott Feinberg that before she snagged the role of Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman, which later led to her breakout turn in the character’s stand-alone movie, she was tired of auditioning and becoming a big movie’s runner-up. “I had so many almosts for big, great things, but I was never a big enough name … It was always me and the big name,” Gadot said. One movie she missed out on: Mad Max: Fury Road. “I was runner-up for Mad Max with Charlize,” Gadot said. So does she resent the woman who went on to become the post-apocalyptic desert’s most iconic badass? Apparently not: “Charlize, I love. We have Patty Jenkins in common,” she said, referencing Theron’s Oscar-winning turn in the Wonder Woman director’s 2003 film Monster. Now that Wonder Woman has become the biggest global live-action film ever by a female director, it’s safe to say we’re glad Gadot ended up on Themyscira instead.

Gal Gadot Almost Got Charlize Theron’s Mad Max Role