Who plays Immortan Joe in Furiosa? Actor and character explored

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga releases in theatres tomorrow, May 24, 2024, and director George Miller takes us down the Fury Road once again. Telling the origins of the titular character, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, the story will focus on her trying to get revenge on Chris Hemsworth's Warlord Dementus and how she ended up with the villainous Immortan Joe.

Many characters from Mad Max: Fury Road will appear in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and the movie will also feature Immortan Joe in a good capacity. However, due to original actor Hugh Keays-Byrne's passing in 2020, Australian actor Lachy Hulme will be replacing him in the role for the prequel.

Going by how the actor looks in the role, it's safe to say that director George Miller made a great pick here.

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Lachy Hulme portrays Immortan Joe in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Prior to starring in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Lachy Hulme was a prolific Australian actor who started his career back in 1994. His first role was in the film The Intruder, but due to the studio behind the movie closing down, it wasn't released until 2005 and was directly put out on DVD. Hulme has also written screenplays with his earliest works being the Canadian film Men with Guns.

Hulme has also appeared in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, where he played the role of Sparks. He is also close friends with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga's director, George Miller. Before being cast as Immortan Joe, he was set to play the role of Rizzdale Pell, a gang member associated with Chris Hemsworth's Warlord Dementus. But he saw that Miller was searching for an actor who could play Immortan Joe, and that's where he saw an opportunity.

“He (Miller) said, ‘I’ll probably just get a body double,’” Hulme revealed via Empire.

The actor continued, “I said, ‘Well, somebody needs to step up for Hugh. Someone needs to honor this great man. I can do it. I can do the voice. And it’s all in the eyes.’ 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!’”

Hulme will be the second actor to portray Immortan Joe following Hugh Keays-Byrne's passing and many have even praised his performance and look in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Bearing a heavy resemblance to Byrne's look as the character, it is a casting that paid off.

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Who is Immortan Joe?

Immortan Joe is a character created by George Miller and he first appeared in Mad Max: Fury Road. He is the lord of the Citadel and is also the leader of the War Boys and commands a large army. In the Mad Max universe, he is a veteran of the Oil and Water Wars and is also considered a legend among his followers.

In Mad Max: Fury Road, he has a scarred appearance with tumors all across his body and also dons a mask. He also has many wives whom he holds captive and uses them to breed more war boys and to harvest their milk. Furiosa was also set to be one of his wives, but due to her being unable to breed, he made her an Imperator.

Fans will be able to see more of his backstory when the film releases on May 24, 2024.