Vice’s Noisey interviews Sean Hape (aka iOTA), the dude who plays the flame-throwing guitar in Mad Max.
Says a VICE publicist: “In the interview, he answers all of our, um, burning questions, including whether his guitar actually shot flames (yes), what music he’d play while on set (Led Zep, natch), and whether he’d return for another Mad Max movie if asked (yes, duh).”
Here’s a snip:
What were the filming days like? I understand it was six months out in the desert.
Yeah we were out there for six months. We didn’t know how much the character was gonna be doing, or when they were gonna need me, so I just spent a lot of time just hanging around in Namibia and waiting. I painted most of the time or wrote. I had a lot of time to myself to do my own thing.
What about the days when you were on set?
Early, of course. You’d be picked up at three or four in the morning and driven an hour and a half or two hours into the desert, get to base camp, get your kit on, eat breakfast, and then get up onto the truck. They’d strap me in and I’d just sort of be there for eight hours. [Laughs]
And you were really bungie corded and blinded for this?
Yes, I was up on the truck and we were tearing through the desert and I had bungies on my hips and the guitar had bungies on it as well because it weighs about 60 kilos (132 pounds). It’s impossible to hold up. I wasn’t blind until the mask comes off at the end of the film and I had a prosthetic on for that so I was kind of led around by the hands for a day or two.
WE TALKED TO THE DUDE WHO PLAYS A FLAME-THROWING GUITAR IN ‘MAD MAX: FURY ROAD’ [Dan Ozzi for Noisey]