Max Rockatansky is the title character and protagonist of the post-apocalyptic action films from the Mad Max franchise, which spans 1979 to 2015. He appears in the films Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and Mad Max: Fury Road. Created by director George Miller and producer Byron Kennedy, the character was played by actor Mel Gibson in the first three films, and by Tom Hardy in the fourth.