Mad Max Actor and iconic screen villain Hugh Keays-Byrne has passed away aged 73. He’s best known for 2 roles in 1 franchise – the gas-guzzling, blood-splattered and highly influential ‘Mad Max’ saga.
1979 saw him cast as Toecutter, the gang leader who terrorized Mel Gibson’s title character in the low budget first flick. With his shock of raccoon-like hair, Keays-Byrne made an instant impression. The film launched Gibson onto the world stage but Max Rockatansky’s nemesis got a lot of attention too.
Director George Miller spotted Keays-Byrne in another tyre-screeching Aussie release, ‘Stone’ (1974). He didn’t forget about his charismatic collaborator, giving him a call when 2015’s ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ was in the offing. The $100 million + production revived the series in spectacular fashion.
Toecutter was scary, yet new character Immortan Joe arrived from people’s worst nightmares. His piercing eyes and rock star do set above a cyborg-like mask spelled trouble for Tom Hardy’s Max and Charlize Theron’s Furiosa.
Despite his advancing age, he was still a force of nature. A piece from The Independent at the time refers to his “bear-like frame and mane of white hair”.
Keays-Byrne’s view of Miller’s monstrous creation seemed philosophical. He called him a “renaissance man” who was “simply trying to bring order into an apocalyptic world”.
This chimes with who the actor was behind the scenes. Keays-Byrne reportedly cared deeply about humankind and the environment. A 2020 snap showed him wearing a mask with an Immortan Joe design.
His upbringing was about as far from the Australian Outback as someone could get. He was born in the city of Srinagar, India in 1947. Part of Jammu and Kashmir, the territory was under the British Raj at the time.
His British parents moved to the UK, where the young Keays-Byrne grew into a respected stage star. He trod the boards with the Royal Shakespeare Company between the late 1960s and early 70s. Working with famed director Peter Brook on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ took him to Australia in 1973. He fell in love with the place and made it his home.
The small – then big – screen beckoned. ‘Stone’ was his movie debut. The following year he appeared in ‘The Man from Hong Kong’, an early attempt to mix “chopsocky” fight sequences with an American action movie style. The director was Brian Trenchard-Smith, a noted “Ozploitation” director making his debut.
Keays-Byrne went on to make such fare as disaster movie ‘The Chain Reaction’ (1980), alongside ‘Mad Max’ star Steve Bisley. He also featured in less OTT dramas like 1984’s ‘Strikebound’ and ‘For Love Alone’ (1986) starring Sam Neill. The latter was Naomi Watts’ first film.
Another notable part was as the title character in 1920s political drama ‘Kangaroo’ (1987). On TV he played Grunchik in acclaimed sci-fi series ‘Farscape’. The star nearly became part of the DC Universe when George Miller planned a ‘Justice League’ motion picture. The role of Martian Manhunter was his before Miller decided against the idea.
Keays-Byrne passed away on Tuesday. He leaves behind a wife, Christina. No cause of death has been specified at time of writing. In addition to acting, he also directed and painted among other pursuits.
Trenchard-Smith broke the news. “His life was governed by his sense of the oneness of humanity” he wrote on Facebook. “We will miss his example and his friendship.”
Charlize Theron posted on Twitter: “It’s amazing you were able to play an evil warlord so well cause you were such a kind, beautiful soul.”
‘We Are Still Here’ director Tim Geoghegan called him “an unsung hero of Aussie cinema”, adding he was “an absolutely wonderful human who fought very hard for environmental and humanitarian issues.”
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George Miller described him as “the glue that held the first ‘Mad Max’ movie together”. Speaking to Indiewire he added, “I learned acting from him, probably more than anybody else that I worked with.
RIP Hugh Keays-Byrne 1947 – 2020