Love at first fight scene? Mad Max: Fury Road might not seem like the most romantic movie in the world, but it turned out to be just that for two stunt professionals, Dane and Dayna Grant, who fell for each other while standing in for Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron on the set of the 2015 blockbuster.
As first reported by Stuff.co.nz, Dane and Dayna met in Namibia a few years ago, during a six-week training boot camp for Mad Max. Dayna, 39, had been tapped to be Theron’s stunt double after previously standing in for the actress on Snow White and the Huntsman. Dane, 37, was the double for another performer, but was temporarily filling in for Hardy.
My husband @DaneGrant and I on set were we met #MadMaxFuryRoad #Furiosa pic.twitter.com/fJsF6ZPJ6Z
— Dayna Grant (@Daynastunts) May 20, 2015
“So the two of us were doing this — dare I say — very S&M-type fight, it’s a love/hate mixture between these characters,” Dane told Stuff.co.nz. “They’re very close, there’s chains, they’re holding each other in very intimate positions, and the longer we were doing it the more we’re kind of eyeing each other up.”
He added: “We’ve said it before and it’s quite cheesy, but it really was love at first sight. While we were punching each other we were falling for each other — quite rapidly.”
The lovebirds have now been married for two years and have a son, Ryder. Together, they run the New Zealand Stunt School she founded in 2010.