‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ actor Hugh Keays-Byrne dead at 73

Hugh Keays-Byrne, the actor best known for portraying Toecutter in “Mad Max” and the villainous Immortan Joe in “Mad Max: Fury Road,” has died at the age of 73.

The actor’s death was confirmed by a representative on Wednesday to Variety.

No cause of death was revealed.

“RIP Hugh Keays-Byrne,” tweeted “Fury Road” co-star Charlize Theron on Wednesday. “It’s amazing you were able to play an evil warlord so well ‘cause you were such a kind, beautiful soul. You will be deeply missed, my friend.”

The son of British parents, Keays-Byrne was born in India before his family moved to England during his youth.

Actor Hugh Keays-Byrne at the "Mad Max: Fury Road" Hollywood premiere in 2015. (Kevin Winter/)

Commencing his entertainment career on TV in the late 1960s, the actor’s first film was the 1974 Australian cult classic “Stone,” in which he played outlaw biker gang member Toad.

“I am sad to report that our friend Hugh Keays-Byrne passed away in hospital (Tuesday),” filmmaker Brian Trenchard-Smith announced on Facebook.

Throughout the 1970s, Keays-Byrne appeared in numerous TV movies and big-screen films, including “The Trespassers” and “Blue Fin.” But in 1979, he would land his most high-profile role as the ruthless Toecutter in George Miller’s apocalyptical drama “Mad Max.”

The film, which launched Mel Gibson’s career, was a global smash at the box office and earned Keays-Byrne an Australian Film Institute Award nomination.

“Hugh Keays-Byrne, an unsung hero of Aussie cinema, has passed away at age 73,” noted “We Are Still Here” filmmaker Ted Geoghegan in a Wednesday tweet. “I’m continually floored that he played Toecutter, the central antagonist of 1979′s “Mad Max” and Immortan Joe, the central antagonist (of) 2015′s “Mad Max: Fury Road. Thanks for all the entertainment, sir.”

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Keays-Byrne had been tapped to play the Martian Manhunter in the highly anticipated but ultimately scrapped “Justice League: Mortal,” noted Comicbook.

The superhero film, which had been in preproduction in the late 2000s, was to star Armie Hammer as Batman.