Riley Keough Remembers Meeting Husband on ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Set: ‘It Was Extra Life-Changing’

Riley Keough’s experience filming ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ remains unforgettable for many reasons.

During her appearance on the episode of SiriusXM’s ‘The Jess Cagle Show’ with Julia Cunningham, the 34-year-old actress reminisced about meeting her husband, Ben Smith-Petersen, on the set of George Miller’s 2015 action epic.

“I’m sure you’ve heard all about it, but it didn’t feel like filming a movie. It felt like living in this world and losing my mind,” she shared. “It was one of the most beautiful, challenging, and incredible experiences of my life. It was life-changing for everyone involved, and for me, it was extra life-changing because I met my husband.”

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Keough, who played the character Capable, reflected on her time in the post-apocalyptic setting after Jess Cagle asked whether she remembers meeting her husband or being covered in desert dust more vividly.

“The dust was unforgettable—I can still taste it. It was traumatic,” she said, adding that her husband, an Australian stuntman, worked on both ‘Fury Road’ and the new prequel ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.’ “He’s really excited about ‘Furiosa,’ but he mentioned they wanted to avoid the intensity of ‘Fury Road’ on set. They aimed to make it feel more like filming a movie,” she explained.

Smith-Petersen’s stunt career also includes movies like ‘Barbie’ and ‘The Suicide Squad,’ in addition to ‘Fury Road.’

Keough detailed in a 2022 essay for British Vogue that they didn’t start dating until she travelled to Australia for re-shoots, during which they spent time together in Sydney. “We got matching tattoos on the third day we hung out, just for fun, not thinking the relationship would go anywhere. It was a magical week,” she wrote.

“I stayed over with him, and the sunlight through a beautiful stained glass window made me realize I couldn’t leave him. It felt really special, even though it had only been a week.”

Keough and Smith-Petersen welcomed their daughter, Tupelo Storm, into their family in 2022.

– Farheen Ali