Keeping it real

Toecutter’s gang were actually a real biker group called The Vigilantes who were local to the Australian filming site.

As the group would drive to the set in their costumes - some of which carried prop weapons - George Miller gave each of the bikers a handwritten memo explaining that they were all working on a movie, and that the weaponry they were carrying was fake just in case they were pulled over by the police.

The director even gave a cheeky nod to the memo in the movie through the “get-out-of-jail-free card” Jim Goose (Steve Bisley) hands to the bikers.

Hiring the gang proved to be the right move, as both the director and cast were left impressed by their willingness and proficiency in stunt driving.

Tim Burns - who played Johnny the boy - recalled: “[The Vigilantes] all wanted to ride the bikes as fast as possible, as often as possible, by their nature.

“Their riding was individually and collectively superb.”