Summary

• Furiosa generally spoke more in Mad Max: Fury Road and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga than Tom Hardy's Max did.
• Three different actors portrayed Furiosa in the franchise, each capturing her rage and power.
• Director George Miller emphasizes visual storytelling, limiting his films' dialogue to enhance their impact.

The Mad Max characters in multiple movies. She became such a symbol of the franchise that the most recent installment, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, focused almost exclusively on her and her journey to becoming a legend of the wasteland. While she would reach legendary status, Imperator Furiosa did so with her actions, not her words.

One of the problems with counting up how many lines Furiosa had in the Mad Max franchise is that there have been three different actors who played her. Charlize Theron first brought the role to life in Fury Road, but she was recast by Anya Taylor-Joy in Furiosa. That movie also split Furiosa's lines between two actors, as Alyla Browne played the younger version of Furiosa for the first part of the movie. Even with just a fraction of Furiosa's lines, though, each actor who has portrayed her perfectly captured the rage and power of the "fifth rider of the apocalypse."

Charlize Theron's Furiosa Has 80 Lines In Mad Max: Fury Road

Charlize Theron was the first actor to take on the role of Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road, and she was also the most vocal. In Fury Road, Theron's Furiosa had 80 lines of dialogue, making her by far the most outspoken Furiosa in the franchise. Furiosa had quite a bit to do in Fury Road, which helps explain why she was talking so much. Through her, the audience learned about the Citadel, the Green Place, the War Rig, and much more about the world of Mad Max. There isn't much exposition in Fury Road, but what little there is often comes from Theron's Furiosa.

Alyla Browne's Furiosa Has 13 Lines In Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Alyla Browne played the young Furiosa in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and demonstrated that the characters tight-lipped nature started at a very early age. All told, Browne only had 13 lines in Furiosa. Much of this was because after her mother, Mary Jabassa, was killed by Dementus' gang, Furiosa spent a long stretch of time completely wordless. From the point her mother died until Dementus met with Immortan Joe, Furiosa didn't say a single word. Even when she was speaking, Furiosa didn't say much. Most of Browne's lines come from the first chapter, either to her sister or her mother.

Anya Taylor-Joy's Furiosa Has 30 Lines In Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

In keeping with Browne's taciturn portrayal, Anya Taylor-Joy's Furiosa was also not very talkative. For her first several scenes in Furiosa, she was still maintaining her silence to hide herself in the Citadel. That, combined with her nearly wordless nature, meant that Taylor-Joy only had 30 lines in Furiosa (via the end of Furiosa. Taylor-Joy told The New York Times that director George Miller wanted her to be silent and convey Furiosa's emotions through her eyes alone.

How Furiosa's Amount Of Lines Compare To Mad Max

In general, Furiosa speaks more often than Max does in Mad Max. In Fury Road, Max only had 63 lines of dialogue, and since Furiosa had 80, she spoke more in one movie than Max did in two. Her standalone origin story also widened that distance even further, as Max only had a non-speaking cameo in Furiosa. Mel Gibson's take on Max was more talkative than both Tom Hardy's and Furiosa, though, so counting him would make Max more loquacious. Gibson didn't talk a tremendous amount, however; Max only had 38 lines in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (via Muted Horn).

Both Max's and Furiosa's lines, or lack thereof, speak to George Miller's directorial style. Miller told The Telegraph that he thought dialogue "slowed things down," and instead wanted to focus on the visual aspect of films. That tenant of his has been very clear throughout the Mad Max franchise: if Miller can get a point across without a line of dialogue, he'll do it. It's why his films are touted as visual masterpieces, why the actors in those films are lauded for their expressions and ability to act with their eyes, and a big reason why Mad Max is such a unique and impressive action franchise.

Source: Variety, The New York Times, Muted Horn, The Telegraph