One of the weirdest elements of "Mad Max: Fury Road" — in a movie full of them — is the presence of The Doof Warrior, aka Coma Doof, aka the riff-rockin, flame-throwing guitarist in the film, played by musician/artist iOTA (real name, Sean Hape). Riding on a rig that seems to be devoted mostly to providing Immortan Joe and his warriors constant music for their chase, you might wonder how George Miller dreamed up such a character and what his backstory might be. Well, the answer to both of those questions are here.
“He’s logical to that world,” Miller explained to The Daily Beast. “Pre-modern communications, there was always the music of war — the bugle, horns, bagpipes, drummers. Every war culture had some sound to signal the troops… ours is just weaponized, so it’s a flamethrower as well.” Simple and smart, much like everything else conjured in Miller’s pic. And iOTA reveals what the director told him about Doof, and what he brought the part as well.
READ MORE: Review: George Miller’s ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Starring Charlize Theron And Tom Hardy
"…George had said that Coma was found by Immortan Joe in a cave and taken under his wing and he learned to be a musician," iOTA explained to Audiences Everywhere. "I kind of embellished that for myself. Basically, my story was that Coma was found with his mother’s head, after she had been killed, and he was clinging to it and Immortan Joe came and found him and Coma took her face off and made the mask out of her face, to honor her when he went to war." And that sounds like the kind of detail that Miller would be cool with.
In case you wondering, the practical effects of the movie carried over to the guitar — it actually shot flames. "…it was gas and it was controlled by the whammy bar," the performer told Noisey. Damn. Though he adds, perhaps not surprisingly, "…it wasn’t a great guitar. It spent a lot of time out in the desert, you wouldn’t want to record with it."
So there you are, all you need to know about Doof. And if there’s sequels iOTA says, "I’ll absolutely be there."
The Door Warrior was the highlight of this movie. #witness!!!
HE MADE THE MOVIE.
I agree. I\’ve worked as a cop for 5 years now, and one of the best things about the job is the hilarity that sometimes occurs during dark or serious moments. With Max having a background with the force, I think that makes the tone perfect.
We declare from this day forward that there can, in fact, be a level of camp between no camp and full-camp.
Flame guitar was hands down the best part of this movie. I\’d watch a whole movie just about flame guitar bro.
The flaming guitar was a masterstroke. Instantly iconic. Mad Max has consistently incorporated the camp aesthetic in its world, from the villains to the ancillary characters. A constant theme in the films has been that of insanity in the face of a world gone to hell. Why seek out \’sense\’ in a post-apocalyptic world when that world itself is borne out of a certain senselessness?
The Doof Warrior was one of Miller\’s great ideas to keep the vibe of the film distinctly Australian.
If GAGE had a problem with that, he\’s not someone I\’d ever want to see a film with!
You\’re not wrong, Gage. The campiness was about 2 notches too high for its own good.
I really love that weird Tone of : Fury Road\’. This is what we should call it "MAD MAX TONE" The characteristic that blew the audience\’s mind far out of this world in to The Deep-Darkness Ages of human being since it first in 1981 .Thank you Miller,Colin Gibson : Production designer and all Max\’s team for The hard and delicate work that been done.
THE TONE WAS PERFECT! SUS LIVES! GAGE AND DIRK BATHE IN THE DREGS OF MOTHER\’S MILK.
The film was near perfect!
Sorry, but FAIL!! This character had me laughing, and laughing, and laughing throuout his whole time on screen!
The tone of the film was perfect, you\’re wrong.
One of the things that ruined the tone of the film. You either go full-camp or no camp at all. You can\’t have both George.
It was supposed to be somewhat silly. Miller isn\’t without a sense of humor. It was nuts, but I loved it.
The film was decent, but that while thing with the heavy metal guitarist was just plain silly. IMO.