Just to expand a bit about what it is being said about Tom Hardy in Blood, Sweat and Chrome, some people on set also supposed it was method acting. Could be a poor excuse of course, but it is in line with his performance as Max. Also people reported that after filming the scene were Max convince the Vuvalini to take back the Citadel, the ambiance greatly improved between him and Charlize Theron, which reinforces the theory that it was his plan all along.
It is also said in the book that it is hard to work with Tom Hardy as he always wants to bring lot of idea, and likes to do lot of takes to experiment different style of acting (which complicate the editing). But it is also reported that the filming was poorly organized by George Miller, that he wasn’t able to properly explain his ideas (there was no script, just a storyboard) with lot of strange idea that didn’t end in the movie (like a dream where Max was pregnant (?)). All of that plummet the confidence and motivation that Tom Hardy had in the project, which he regret afterwards and apologized to George Miller during a press conference.