Tina Turner: 11 Amazing Facts You Didn’t Know About Her Role in MAD MAX: BEYOND THUNDERDOME

Tina Turner, one of the most successful recording artists of all time, died at her home in Switzerland at 83. She was known as a singer with powerful raspy vocals and explosive energy. But her role in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome elevated her acting to another level. In the 1985 Australian film, Tina Turner’s Aunty Entity ruled over the post-apocalyptic community of “Bartertown”. She serves as the movie’s deuteragonist. Aunty Entity is one of the most recognizable characters in movie history.

The Mad Max franchise has grown to become the most recognizable dystopian franchise. Its distinctive souped up automobiles and depictions of people battling for control of precious resources set the standard. George Miller has realized his post-apocalyptic vision with a total of four movies and a fifth on the way. The franchise is associated with dystopia, and several TV programs, including the well-known adult comedy Rick and Morty, have mocked the idea.

The Mad Max franchise has been running strong with a cult following for more than four decades.. The franchise has gained new fans and fame since the release of Mad Max: Fury Road. Even if you believe you’re an expert on the films, there may be a few things you missed.

1. Tina Turner Turned Spielberg Down For Mad Max

Tina Turned down a prominent role in the coming of age film The Color Purple. It went to Margaret Avery who earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance. But it was almost the Grammy-winning actress instead.

At the time Tina Turner was rebuilding her personal and professional reputation after the divorce from her husband and manager Ike Turner. After the divorce she accused him of emotional and physical abuse. As she revived her career she explored acting. “My dream has always been to act,” she said. “I intend to become a popular and professional actress during this next stage of the rest of my life.” This was Tina Turner’s first major role. Before this she had a small part in Ken Russell’s 1975 rock opera, Tommy.

Steven Spielberg personally approached Turner for the role of Shug Avery. But she turned it down. In a 1986 interview with Luce Cinecitta she said the story in The Color Purple reflected “too much back on my life with my ex-husband” (Ike Turner). “I mean, I’m talking always to the press about my life and now to do a movie?,” she laughed. “I’m just dragging myself down. I’m trying to forget the past because it’s done. It’s over. I finished that part of my life, and I’m not going to do a part that will remind me of what I’ve lived already”. She added, “I think Steve understood that I couldn’t do it for that reason, finally, after I really expressed what it was.”

She took the role in Mad Max because she wanted an action role as a strong “warrior woman”.

2. The Role of Aunty Entity Was Written with Turner in Mind

Rolling Stone said that when it came time to cast Aunty the director casually considered actresses like Jane Fonda and Lindsay Wagner. Both actresses were popular at the time.

But while in London Miller was watching television. He saw Tina Turner discussing her desire to act. It stuck in his mind. When he and George Hayes began developing the script he began to refer to Entity as “the Tina Turner character.” He said he wasn’t too familiar with her music but he thought her persona would be right for the role.

When production was near he flew to Los Angeles to test Tina Turner herself. He was impressed with her acting and offered her the role. Turner didn’t hesitate to accept the role.

3. Tina Turner Was One of Only Three American Actors in the Film

Mel Gibson, Tina Turner and Angelo Rossitto are the only three American cast members featured in the film. Although Gibson immigrated with his family to Australia when he was 12 years old and started his acting career there, he is not an Australian citizen as he was born in the United States to an American father and Irish mother. This was also the first Mad Max film to include American actors other than Gibson.

4. Aunty Entity’s Costume Was Massive

Aunty Entity’s steel chainmail dress weighed more than 70 pounds (32 kilograms). Rolling Stone magazine called it a “soldered amalgam of dog muzzles, coat hangers and chicken wire, the whole overlaid with gleaming chain-mail butcher aprons and accessorized with pendulant auto-spring earrings”.

A over the top costume for a larger than life character. But it came with some challenges.

5. Tina Turner’s Costume Left Scars

Thunderdome was filmed in the scorching hot Australian desert. Her costume left her exposed to the sun. So someone had to follow her around with an umbrella. But the real problem for her was the metal sticking out of various parts of her costume.

“The wires would break and I sort of had scars in the shoulder area and through the waist area,” she told an interviewer. ”Because you know it wasn’t just wires put together to hold that frame and then the rest was just a heavy weight so it was really quite uncomfortable.” As a consummate professional it never affected her performance.

6. A Saxophone Meant More than Most Realize

A saxophone is heard playing when Max first meets Aunty; the camera then reveals that the music is diegetic (happening within the film itself), as one of Aunty’s men is playing it. This is a reference to Mad Max (1979), in which Max’s wife gets revealed in a similar manner while playing the saxophone.

7. Aunty Entity’s Name is Never Revealed in the Film

There are many mysteries about Tina Turner’s character but the most surprising one is her last name. The character is billed as Aunty Entity. But no one calls her that in the film. She’s always referred to as just Aunty. But we can take it further. If we assume the name Aunty is just a nickname then very name is never given in true film at all.

8. Tina Turner Was Ok With Shaving Her Head

Turner had been wearing vibrant wigs for decades. It had become part of her signature style. When it came time for the Aunty Entity costume they designed a wild mohawk style wig. But it required her to shave the sides of her head. While some actresses like Persis Khambatta broke down in tears at the thought of shaving their head, the Tiny Dancer star didn’t give it a second thought. “I cut it because George wanted it similar to how I wear my hair,” she later said. “And so a few times it sort of got crazy. But as a queen it had to be a bit more controlled so it was sort of you know sprayed and put in place but I did the cutting of the top layer and the tailpiece was done by makeup.”

And she did look like a queen in her Aunty Entity outfit, but she was a queen every day.

9. Aunty Entity is Unique in the Mad Max films

There are four movies in the Mad Max franchise as of 2021. Aunty Entity stands out among the bad guys in a number of ways. She is the only female villain, the smartest because she carefully considers each move before making them, the only one to deal with Max directly when she makes a deal with him, the only one to gain Max’s respect because she spared his life when he was defenseless, and the only one to survive and regain their position of authority.

10. “We Don’t Need Another Hero” Was Turner’s Comeback Song

One of the reasons Tina Turner turned down roles was because he didn’t want to be known only as a singer. But, ironically, a song from the movie became one of her biggest hits. “My dream has always been to act,” she said. “I intend to become a popular and professional actress during this next stage of the rest of my life.”

Tina Turner’s 1984 comeback album, Private Dancer, was an unlikely success story due to her talent and work ethic, and her support from David Bowie and Mick Jagger. Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome added another dimension to her comeback.

In the summer of 1985, Tina Turner’s rendition of the movie’s power ballad, “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” peaked at number two on the U.S. charts, number three on the UK charts, and number one in Australia. The movie’s theme song was recorded in London, England, with a backing choir from Kings House School.

“We Don’t Need Another Hero,” was nominated for the Grammy Award for both Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Record of the Year. It won both. While she had been nominated several times this was her first win since 1975’s “Proud Mary” which she shared with Ike Turner. The rock song also won her the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. The Ivor Novello Award was given to Graham Lyle and Terry Britten for writing the best song musically and lyrically.

11. Tina Turner’s Car Was Modified

One of the most iconic elements of the movies are the cars. The movie features dozens of custom mad cars for the movie. Aunty gets her own custom car that has both a supercharged engine and a turbine engine. The script called for Aunt Entity to drive the vehicle.

But there was a problem. While all the vehicles were built with manual transmissions Tina Turner couldn’t drive a stick. So a vehicle was adapted specifically for the actress.

The world lost an exquisite performer when Ms. Turner died. Plus she embodied one of the greatest on-screen characters ever mode. We don’t need another hero and we’ll never have another performer like Tina Turner.

What did you think of Tina Turner’s performance in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome? What’s your favorite thing about Aunty Entity?