A man whose path to fame began with banned substances. A man who constantly plays strict, masculine characters, but does not consider himself an example of courage at all. An actor who made voicing his characters a real art, inventing quirky accents for them. During his 20-year career, Tom Hardy [ˈhɑrdi] created an image for himself as an actor who is able to fully convey the emotions of his character even with his face completely covered by a mask. A true screen brawler, BAFTA award winner and Oscar nominee. Why does he like playing bad guys more? What kind of
orangutan is sitting inside him? And how did he get the tattoo in Leo DiCaprio's handwriting? We invite you to look into the world of Tom Hardy and find out what his path to recognition was like. You're on the Biographer channel, so get comfortable and let's get started! Childhood and youth Edward Thomas Hardy was born on September 15, 1977 in the London area of Hammersmith [ˈhæmərˌsmɪθ]. He became the only child of writer Edward "Chips" Hardy and artist Anne Barrett [ˈbærɪt]. As a child, he had a wonderful relationship with his mother, but things were more difficult with
his father. According to Tom, he was quite strict and treated his son as an adult from an early age, despite the fact that he was still quite a child. His father was educated at Cambridge, but Tom had problems with learning even at school. According to him, he studied in very good schools, but was never an exemplary student, not having very good grades. In his teenage years, the future actor was a real troublemaker and even a criminal. He was expelled from school for theft, and at the age of 15 he was arrested for stealing a car.
Hardy grew up in East Sheen [ist ʃin], a quiet suburb of London where, he says, nothing happened, but if you looked for trouble, you could find it there. Inset quote: «It's the suburbs. The life is so privileged and peaceful and so bloody dull, it gives you the instinctive feral desire to f**k everything up. I got arrested at 15 for joyriding in a stolen Merc - and for good measure there was A gun in the car. I just had to endanger myself; it was a kind of self-harming». (Tom Hardy) So Tom looked for adventures on his
own and found them. In addition to problems with the law, the young man began to use alcohol and illegal substances at a very early age. «I was a very adrenal kid. I ran on my feelings, and there was a lot of fear. When I found drinking at 13 – a bit of beer – I felt calm,” he said later. “I thought this must be how everyone else feels, and I wanted more of it. But then I became a drunk, a f**king drunk, man!». Over time, the abuse of illegal substances led to addiction, but at first
even they did not prevent him from acting, which he came to at an early age. At first, it was only a fleeting interest, which was supported by his parents: "from a very privileged position I was underachieving and my desperate parents were like, 'Fucking hell, we've got to find something for Tom to do.'" Hardy said that he did not like to do anything that he considered boring, and only the opportunity to play, manipulate and have fun could attract his attention. And he always knew how to manipulate and was a skilled liar. Therefore, acting became an ideal
option for revealing the skills of a young man. As he admitted later, it was acting that allowed him to feel self-confidence, because thanks to it he realized that he could be really good at something. In addition, this profession helped him get on the right path in his life, guiding him in the right direction. Inset quote: «I wanted my dad to be proud of me, and I fell into acting because there wasn’t anything else I could do, and in it I found a discipline that I wanted to keep coming back to, that I love and I
learn about every day». (Tom Hardy) So, Tom chose the acting path for his career and began to study in institutions according to his specialty. He studied Performing Arts at Richmond College, from which he was expelled, and at the Drama Center London, where he studied acting. It was in the latter institution that he met another now-famous actor, Michael Fassbender [ˈfæsˌbɛndər]. Hardy said that he always treated Michael with great respect And said that he would like to play on the same stage with him. Of his years at this school, Tom recalled that learning was an ordeal, comparing
it to the movie Whiplash. Hardy said that the person who taught them acted as if they wanted to simply destroy the students, trying to get from them true perfection: «This isn't about money or fame, this is just about doing what it says on the tin. On the lid of the box. If you do not do what it says on the tin, why the f**k are we carrying you?” Hardy said in his interviews. “You're a waste of time. You fundamentally lack the basic knowledge required to formulate a simple opinion on this subject. You might as well
f**k off». It was while Hardy was studying at the Drama Center London in 1998 that he also won the Find Me a Supermodel competition on The Big Breakfast morning show. This earned him a short-term contract with Models 1. Hardy tried himself in different roles during that period. In addition to his modeling and acting career, he also tried to find himself in music. As the actor later recalled, he started rapping at the age of 14 or 15. Together with his Friend Edward Tracy [ˈtreɪsi], they even recorded an entire rap album called “Falling on Your Ass in
1999”. Until recently, it was impossible to listen to it, because the cassette remained somewhere in Tracy's attic for many years. And only in 2018, the records were finally made publicly available. Edward Tracy recalled that this album recording took place in his bedroom, without the use of a mixer and with a minimum of equipment. They recorded Tom's vocals on a portable tape recorder. "No overdubs or editing. Tom had a click track for timing but that was it, he had to get it in one take. Raw production techniques!" He also mentioned that later they were even offered
a contract to record a professional album, but Tom's agent turned it down, saying that it was better for him to focus exclusively on acting and leave music. Hardy remembered his rap career like this: Inset quote: "I used to be with the guy who managed Leela James and Lauren Hill, Pras, the Fugees and all that. I worked out with (Grammy winning producers) Warren Riker and Gordon Williams. I've got albums, Man. My best friend Peanut, he grew up in the south Bronx. He's a very good MC and we still play. It'll come out in a film one
day, it'll come out in a character somewhere". (Tom Hardy) During this period, in 1999, he also got married for the first time. His chosen one was producer Sarah Ward [wɔrd], with whom they got married just 3 weeks after meeting. In honor of her, the actor made 3 tattoos: in the form of a dragon, since Sarah was born in the year of the Dragon, as well as with the letter "W" and the inscription "Till I die SW". In general, Hardy has a lot of tattoos all over his body, because he considers it extremely important to leave
signs for himself about people and events that are important to him. The first roles During his studies, he also got his first roles, playing in several episodes of the mini-series “Band of Brothers" in 2001. It tells about the company of the paratrooper regiment that took part in the Second World War. Hardy played the role of private soldier John Janovec [ya-no-vets] in this project. In addition, in the same year he made his big film debut, playing a small role in the war film “Black Hawk Down" directed by Ridley Scott [skɑt]. In it he also played a
soldier, SPC Lance Twombly [ˈtwumbli]. Later, the fact that his first characters were soldiers played a role in Tom's desire to join a real parachute regiment. Inset quote: «I suppose I wanted to see if I could be a hero. My military career lasted about five minutes. I realised I was being recruited for a combat-effective unit, with two tours of duty in five years, probably in Iraq. I started to ask questions, so they soon got me out. That finished all that macho bollocks for me. But I sucked up the environment, I absorbed a few more characters». (Tom
Hardy) But after the successful start of his career, he was also expelled from Drama Center London, because the use of prohibited substances, which Hardy continued to abuse, began to affect his life more seriously. Then he fell to the very bottom - later, recalling that period, he admitted that he could sell his own mother, just to get a dose. In the interview, Hardy also mentioned a story about how he was in Los Angeles and was supposed to meet in Hollywood with director John Woo [wu], but he was so high that he lost consciousness and came to
his senses in an unknown place, in bed with a strange naked man, a cat and a gun. «I went entirely off the rails and I’m lucky I didn’t have some terrible accident or end up in prison or dead – because that’s where I was going”, Tom confessed, “It’s like living with a 400lb orang-utan that wants to kill me. It’s much more powerful than me, doesn’t speak the same language and it runs around in the darkness of my soul». A career failure had a very strong influence on Tom's descent into serious addiction. In 2002, he took
part in the sci-fi film “Star Trek: Nemesis”, which was the tenth part of the iconic “Star Trek” franchise. In it, Hardy got his first major role, playing Shinzon [ʃɪnzɔn], who turns out to be a clone of the main character, Captain Jean-Luc Picard [pɪˈkɑrd], played by Patrick Stewart [ˈstuərt]. Therefore, for this role, the director was looking For an actor who would look like Stewart, only 25 years younger. In addition, he wanted to find a person who would be unknown to the general public. Hardy auditioned and was cast. Filming in such a large franchise gave the young
actor the opportunity to hope for success and career growth. But instead there was a real failure. The film failed at the box office and received poor reviews from critics who rated it as the worst in the entire franchise. Although Tom’s performance was noted very positively, he was even nominated as the Best Supporting Actor at the Saturn Awards, the failure was still quite noticeable. And this negatively affected the actors’ well-being, he began to drink even more and use prohibited substances. After all, in 2003 he passed out right on Old Compton Street in Soho [oʊld ˈkɑmptən strit
ɪn ˈsoʊhoʊ]. When Hardy regained consciousness, he found himself on the ground in a pool of his own blood and vomit. This was the last straw, after which Tom sought help and underwent a course of rehabilitation and psychotherapy. Since then, he has completely given up on illegal substances, And after some time he also gave up alcohol. Inset quote: "There were systematically, constantly, things that were put across my path where it was, 'Tom, you need to wake up because there are more important things to do. And you keep on doing stuff that's nonsense, and you of all
people have been born with opportunities.' So I had words with myself about the reality of wanking about when there's such a lot to be getting on with." (Tom Hardy) Since then, he has professed sobriety, although it has been a difficult test for him, because the “orangutan”, whom he affectionately calls Arthur, still remains inside him: “One day I woke up in his arms. He doesn’t want to kill me, but he can’t help it. He probably will because he’s an orangutan. He’s gotten stronger over the years. That’s the thing about living with Arthur”. But it did not
help him save his marriage. Sarah Ward could not stand these difficult times and filed for divorce. The official end of their relationship was formalized in 2004. In 2003-2004, Hardy also had a brief relationship with Korean actress Linda Park [pɑrk]. It seems That they reconciled already after the separation of the actor from his wife, although it was not yet formalized. But some rumors presented it as betrayal, as if Tom started dating Park while still in a relationship with Sarah, which also became one of the reasons for their divorce. As for “Star Trek: Nemesis", Hardy remembered it
with warmth and gratitude several years later: “That's a dream come true, that's magic. At such a young age, to be trusted with a franchise like that...I was quite a bit honored. Everyone was brilliant, great fun and I was immersed entirely in the Star Trek world...it was a very important part of my life. I'm very grateful for that”. After a period of rehabilitation and addiction treatment, Tom plunged headlong into his work. In the spring of 2003, Hardy appeared on the theater stage for the first time, playing in the production of London's Royal Court Theater called “Blood”
and in the play “In Arabia We'd All Be Kings" at London's Hampstead Theatre. “In Arabia We'd All Be Kings”, he played Skank, a drug addict who used to be an actor and failed to make it big. At that time, Hardy was in almost The same position, which gave his acting a special vibe. And adding to this Tom’s unconditional acting talent made his debut in the theater truly successful. At the Evening Standard Theater Awards, he won the award as the best newcomer. Hardy also continued to act in movies. He got work in the drama “The Reckoning"
with Willem Dafoe [ˈdæfoʊ], the psychological thriller “Dot the i” with Gael Garcia Bernal [ˈbɜrnəl] and the crime film “Layer Cake" with Daniel Craig [kreɪɡ]. He also starred in the horror films “LD 50 Lethal Dose” and “Minotaur”. Among his other works: small roles in the movies “Marie Antoinette”, “Scenes of a Sexual Nature” and “Flood”, which failed at the box office. It is difficult to call the films successful, and the attempt to show oneself in horror films turned out to be a failure in general. The movies received very bad reviews and a bad rating. So, regarding Jonathan
English's project, one of the reviewers wrote: "Minotaur is the sort of film that if you paid to see it in a movie theater you'd probably come out not so much disliking the film as feeling a bit underwhelmed By it.”. Although “The Reckoning" became a rather unusual role for the actor, revealing him to the audience from a rather interesting side. An exception can be counted as Sofia Coppola's [koʊˈpoʊləz] film “Marie Antoinette", which told about the life and experiences of the famous French queen. Tom got a small role in the film - Ramon, a young nobleman and
intriguer, but even his small performance in the scene with the incredible Kirsten Dunst [dʌnst] was well appreciated by the audience and critics. In general, the historical drama was received positively. And even if there are certain historical inaccuracies in it, Marie Antoinette is considered one of Hardy's greatest projects at the dawn of his career. In his professional work during this period, there is also an appearance on television. Hardy stars as Lt. Jack Rose [roʊz] in “Colditz”, a two-part drama about soldiers trying to escape from a WWII POW camp. He also appears in the biographical miniseries “The
Virgin Queen" as Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester [ˈrɑbərt ˈdʌdli, ɜrl ʌv ˈlɛstər], who was a childhood friend of Queen Elizabeth I. During the filming of this series, he met assistant director Rachel Speed [spid], with whom he began a relationship, and in 2009, she bore him son Louis. Later, Hardy said that parenthood influenced and changed him quite a lot. He mentioned that before that he was quite selfish and only thought about himself, and his son’s birth forced him to throw out a lot of unnecessary things from his head and focus on important things that would help
him get better. He also came to understand that in order to take care of someone, he had to first learn to take care of himself. In addition, his son’s birth forced Tom to change his attitude towards his father, as he was able to understand that parenthood was a very difficult task and it was impossible not to make mistakes along the way. This allowed Tom to forgive his father a lot and let go of his grudges against him. Parenthood also required Tom to learn how to change his son's diapers. And it was during the performance of
this difficult task there was an episode which the actor Would remember for the rest of his life. Inset quote: "I managed to survive my entire life without getting kicked in the testicles. And then one day I was changing the nappy of my son. I put him on his back and he was moving his feet about. I was like, 'Come on', and he brought his heel down - and clipped the top of my left testicle. It took me to the f***ing floor man. Excruciating agony. And my son was only a foot-and-a-half long." (Tom Hardy) His career
also developed rapidly during this period. He also got work in television films: he played the main role in the film “A for Andromeda”, a remake of the 1961 series of the same name, and also got into the TV adaptation of the Charles Dickens [ˈdɪkənz] novel “Oliver Twist”, where he played Bill Sikes [saɪks]. It is clear that his career was not without bitter rejections. One of the most serious disappointments for Tom was the refusal to take him for the role of Mr. Darcy [ˈdɑrsi] in the 2005 adaptation of the famous novel “Pride and Prejudice”. He recalled
that during the audition, producer Stacey Snider [ˈsnaɪdər] took him aside to say "Honey, women all over the world have a picture of what Darcy is and I’m afraid you’re just not it". Inset quote: “That hurt, that really hurt. I’d worn a blue shirt and jeans and a blue blazer and been doing my best Hugh Grant impression. But now I was back to playing the wonky skewiff-teeth kid with the bow legs.” (Tom Hardy) For Hardy, this role was very important, as he had almost always acted in crime films and thrillers, so the opportunity to play a
character that would be completely different from his other work was the perfect chance for him to show his own versatility. But this time, the failure did not become an excuse for Tom to become depressed and return to bad habits. Instead, the actor continued to work hard and seek recognition. Recognition And he got it in 2007, after starring in “Stuart: A Life Backwards”. It tells the story of Stuart Shorter [ˈʃɔrtər], a homeless drug addict who meets and befriends Alexander Masters [ˈmæstərz]. The latter was a screenwriter and writer who also Worked as a social worker with the
homeless. After learning about Stewart's difficult life and fate, Masters wanted to write a book about him. Shorter helped him with this and even suggested the same basic plot line, whereby the story should be told in reverse, from end to beginning. Unfortunately, Stuart died before the end of the book, but, as Masters assured, he would be very happy if it was made into a screen: "That's a first Stuart would have enjoyed. Somebody actually wants to be him!" Therefore, the writer did not object when he was approached with an offer to shoot the film and even wrote
the script for it himself. Hardy performed the role of Stewart, and his partner on the set, the performer of the role of Masters, was Benedict Cumberbatch [ˈkʌmbərˌbæʧ]. Have you seen the joint work of then still little-known future British stars? Share your impressions with us in the comments! And write which Tom Hardy movies you consider the most favorite and why! We read all your comments! For the role in this film, Hardy had to change a lot physically in order to match the appearance Of a man with a drug addiction and living on the streets. Therefore, the
actor really starved himself to lose weight, and as a result lost as much as 25 pounds in just 1 month. Tom's performance in this movie was noticed and appreciated: he received a nomination for the BAFTA TV Award as the best actor, which gave him the impetus for new achievements. After this film, Hardy’s career, who at that time had already celebrated his 30th birthday, began to soar rapidly. In 2008, the actor got into a new movie by Guy Ritchie [ˈrɪʧi] - the crime thriller “RocknRolla”, in which he played the role of a member of the Wild
Bunch gangster group - Handsome Bob, a closeted gay man, who is secretly in love with the leader of the gang, One-Two, played by Gerard Butler [ˈbʌtlər]. Although the film was received ambiguously by critics, this work was quite successful for Tom, because after seeing the actor in this film, Christopher Nolan [ˈnoʊlən] decided to invite him to his cult films “Inception” and “The Dark Knight Rises”. In the same year, Hardy still appeared in the Television adaptation of the English classic: he was cast as Heathcliff [ˈhɛθklɪf] in the two-part film “Wuthering Heights”. And here Hardy managed to demonstrate
that he was up to the dramatic role of a dangerous, but still attractive character in a romantic film. Therefore, although the film again received rather mixed reviews, the critics were very favorable to the actor. Kathryn Flett [flɛt] of The Observer noted that Hardy managed to convincingly portray a character who "thoroughly dangerous to know in all the right ways, entirely capable of making even careworn middle-aged women rend their garments, tear their hair and head for the moors". Tom's partner on the set of this film was Charlotte Riley [ˈraɪli], who played Heathcliff's love Catherine Earnshaw [ˈɜrnˌʃɔ]. And
the actor began an affair with her during filming. Riley mentioned in her interview how feelings developed between them. She said that during filming, they often went on coffee dates. She also recalled that at that time Tom was preparing for the role of Charles Bronson [ˈbrɑnsən], so his stern look even scared her. Inset quote: “It wasn’t love at first cup. In fact, I was a bit unnerved when he switched into Charles Bronson. After a few cups of tea I realized it was something he did mainly to make people laugh.” (Charlotte Riley) It would seem that there
was nothing surprising that a real romance began between the actors who portrayed the lovers on the screen, but as we remember, at that time Hardy was in a relationship with Rachel Speed, who was pregnant with his child at that time. Because of this, when Tom's relationship with Charlotte became known to the public, he was immediately accused of cheating. Hardy did not deny these rumors and did not comment at all. He and Charlotte eventually married in 2014, and soon had two children together. Despite media gossip, Tom's ex was present at his wedding, which demonstrated the absence
of resentment and tension between them. Hardy also continues to talk to and see his older son, although he doesn't get to do that very often due to his busy schedule. Tom said that he mostly had to be a "Skype dad", which upset him, But at the same time he understood that this was necessary so that his son was always provided with everything he needed. The couple's children were born in 2015 and 2019. The parents have never publicly confirmed either their date of birth or gender, but information appeared in the media that their firstborn was a
girl, and later they had a boy. The Sun, citing its sources, reported that the parents named the son Forrest after Tom Hanks' character in the movie “Forrest Gump”. The source also told the newspaper that the boy looked a lot like his father. But it appears that the sources, if they existed at all, gave the newspaper false information about the son's name - in one of the videos where Tom recalled a funny episode about his children, he called his son Jordan. And although Hardy has been seen exclusively in relationships with women, has three children and a
long and strong marriage, there have been rumors about his sexual orientation for quite some time. It all happened because of one of the old interviews, in which Hardy's words Were misinterpreted as an admission that he had sexual relations with men. Later, he was often asked about this, which led Tom to explain that he was neither gay nor bisexual, and had never had sex with men. Not much can be found about their relationship. But based on the available interviews, the couple loves each other, accepting all possible challenges. "I just love him however he comes," Riley told
the U.K.'s Sunday Herald. "He's great around the house. We do designated things. I love recycling. He's good at making the bed. It works brilliantly." Despite this, in 2008, another landmark film for Hardy appeared on the screens - the biopic “Bronson” by director Nicolas Winding Refn [ˈnɪkələs ˈwaɪndɪŋ rɛfn]. Tom played the main role of Charles Bronson, a prisoner who is considered the most violent criminal in Britain. According to Hardy, the project was 4 years in the making and began with a short film he shot with photographer Rankin [ˈræŋkɪn] acting as director. It was just a small
scene where Hardy held hostages. With this material, producer Danny Hansford [ˈhænsfərd] went to Vertigo Films to get money to shoot. The studio was interested in the material and started working on it. As director, it was decided to take Nicolas Winding Refn, with whom Hardy did not get along at first. Because of this, Tom dropped out of the project, and the director began to look for another actor. Jason Statham [ˈstæθəm] was a contender for the role, but he later turned it down. And a whole year of searching did not yield results, so Refn decided to return
to Hardy's candidacy. He agreed and began talking to Bronson, who, as it turned out, was very angry with Tom, because he believed that he did not want to work with him. The actor explained that this was not the case at all, and later spoke on the phone with Charles's sister, established contact with his family, and then began to visit him in prison for meetings. With Refn, Tom also managed to find a common language in the process of work and later said that the director is a real genius in his work. But Hardy assessed the filming
process as quite difficult, so he emphasized that he was glad that It was Refn who worked with him on this film. Inset quote: "People were walking on, walking off, the script was falling to bits at times, and we had to get a script editor to come in and rewrite lots of it. We were shooting in consecutive order, and some of the stuff came unravelled as we went along [...] I wouldn't have been able to do that with anyone who wasn't a proper artist." (Tom Hardy) The main reason for Tom's differences with the director was that
Hardy felt that Refn's preparation for this film was insufficient, pointing to serious problems with the script. Later in an interview, Hardy recalled this: "If something's full of holes, don't be surprised if I point them out. If you're fair weather and haven't been able to contribute to the challenge, why challenge me when you don't have the strength? You said the work would be done and it hasn't been done, and so whose fault is it that we're in confrontation? You can call that difficult—I call that not being prepared. You can call that difficult—I call it being betrayed.”
In order to prepare for the role, Hardy had to gain a lot of weight, for which there was very little time - only 5 weeks. For this, he followed a special diet that allowed him to gain about 7 pounds per week. Although it is quite difficult to call it a real diet, because Tom ate a lot of pizza and ice cream and drank Coca-Cola during it. He also performed light physical exercises: work on the press, push-ups. As for his meetings with Bronson, Tom recalled that at first he was very afraid of them, because he had
to go to the prison with lots of brutal murderers. And Bronson's reputation, even though he was not a murderer, caused Hardy fears, because he was considered a real psycho and a very cruel person. But, according to Tom, in reality it turned out not to be quite so. Although it was clear that Charles was not an angel and was indeed a criminal, the rumors around him were still too exaggerated. Bronson was initially very skeptical of the fact that Hardy would play him in the film, saying after the first meeting that "This kid will never be able
to play me." But When they met just two weeks later, he was amazed at his transformation. After that, Charles's trust in Tom became truly limitless. Inset quote: "I honestly believe nobody on the planet could play me as Tom did. He is more like me than I am. He has put on one and a half stone of muscles for the movie. He looks awesome and I’m so f****** proud of him." (Charles Bronson) Also, he decided to cut off his famous mustache, which was part of his image, and send it to Hardy, trying to at least somehow
become involved in the filming of a movie about himself: “Maybe the make-up artists on set can stick it on his top lip. If not, Tom can stick it in his pocket for luck. Then at least part of me will be on the film set!” Upon its release, the film received positive reviews from critics, who praised it for its writing, direction and humor, while noting on the negative side only the high amount of violence. Hardy's performance also received excellent reviews. Bronson himself approved of his work when he was finally allowed To view the movie: "If I
were to die in jail then at least I live on through Britain's No 1 actor". After “Bronson” success, Hardy entered a new level in his career. As we mentioned earlier, Christopher Nolan, having seen the actor in the movie “RocknRolla”, invited him to his new project - the film “Inception”. Tom received the invitation while preparing for the movie “Warrior”. Inset quote: “I was asked...Chris Nolan said he wanted to speak to me and would I fly out to meet him. We had a chat, an hour-long informal chat by the seaside. It was very nice.” (Tom Hardy) As
the actor said, Nolan did not even give him the script of the film at first, describing it simply as a heist film with an unexpected twist. But when he was finally able to read the script, he realized that the concept of the project was very unusual, it was something completely new that he did not expect at all. In the film, Tom played the role of Eames [imz], a man engaged in identity theft and document forgery. When creating this character, Hardy consulted with Nolan, because only he could Explain what exactly he wanted to see in his
film. According to Tom, he himself felt his character like “an old, Graham Greene-type diplomat. Sort of faded, shabby, grandeur the old Shakespeare lovey mixed with somebody from her Majesties' Special Forces”. Nolan agreed with this interpretation, offering to add a bit of James Bond to this image. Tom also mentioned that he believed that the character he played was actually a reflection of Christopher Nolan, so he tried to recreate the director’s mannerisms in his performance. Nolan said about Hardy that he chose him for his chameleon-like ability to transform. "He can inhabit a role. He saw the potential
of the character right away and brought a wonderful cheeky quality to his performance". Tom's role was very important, because he was almost the only comedic element in this gloomy film, defused the situation and gave the audience the opportunity to rest a little between complex plot twists. For example, his flirtation with Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s [ˈʤoʊsəf ˈɡɔrdən-ˈlɛvɪts] character, Arthur, and the famous phrase "You mustn't be afraid to dream a little Bigger, darling.", in which the word "darling" was Hardy’s improvisation, which Nolan decided to leave in the movie. Tom confirmed this, noting that one of the important factors that
attracted him to the role, besides working with Nolan and actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page [peɪʤ], was the opportunity to find the comedy of circumstances in the work: Inset quote: "I do like to find comedy – not boom boom, but circumstance, an incongruous character juxtaposed with a certain situation. My old man is a comedy writer – he wrote for Dave Allen and he writes adverts, and I grew up around that. I have an acute awareness that I'm selling something – lying and keeping a straight face." (Tom Hardy) Hardy also noted that he enjoyed
the filming process and admired how Nolan took care of the actors, creating a very safe and secure environment for them on set. He also mentioned the huge, well-thought-out sets that made this whole fictional world completely interactive, because the filming took place without the use Of a green screen: “Chris created a dream we went into and inhabited. Everything was as written, even in performance. We were breathing life into Chris Nolan's imagination”. The film became very successful, grossing a worldwide box office of 839 million dollars. Critics also expressed their admiration: David Roark [rɔrk] of ‘Relevant’ concluded that
"Visually, intellectually and emotionally, Inception is a masterpiece", and on Rotten Tomatoes the film received an average score of 8.2 out of 10. The actor's next project was the spy thriller “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” directed by Tomas Alfredson [ˈælfrɪdsən], based on the popular novel of the same name by John le Carré [ˌkɑˈreɪ]. It tells about the search for a Soviet spy in the ranks of British intelligence in the 70s. In this film, along with Hardy, such stars as Gary Oldman, Benedict Cumberbatch and Colin Firth [ˈɡɛri ˈoʊldmən, ˈbɛnəˌdɪkt ˈkʌmbərˌbæʧ ænd ˈkoʊlɪn fɜrθ] shone on the screen. In
the film, Tom played the role of Ricki Tarr [tɑr], a field agent who provided Information about the presence of a mole in the organization. Interestingly, Michael Fassbender was the first candidate for this role, but due to scheduling conflicts with another project, “X-Men: First Class”, he was forced to turn it down, after which it was offered to Hardy. The film received excellent reviews from critics, had 3 Oscar nominations and won the BAFTA award as the best British film. Also, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” grossed a good box office - it was 81.2 million dollars against a budget
of 21 million. In the same 2011, Tom appeared in the sports action film Warrior. There he played the main role of Tommy Riordan Conlon [ˈtɑmi ˈrɪrdən ˈkɑnlən], a war veteran forced to participate in fights without rules, where he even had to fight his own brother. Preparation for this role again required an external transformation from Hardy. He needed to put on some serious muscle mass, which required him to go on a no-carb diet and eat chicken and broccoli all the time. He also practiced boxing, jiu-jitsu, Thai boxing, Weightlifting and choreography regularly for 3 months without a
break. And each of these classes took 2 hours a day! As a result, Tom gained 25 pounds of muscle, achieving the desired physique. Although “Warrior” did not do well at the box office, it was very warmly received by critics. The film explores complex themes such as the importance of family, forgiveness, redemption, reconciliation, and the strength of the spirit. It was for their excellent disclosure that it received good reviews. Sandie Angulo Chen [ændi ɑŋˈɡuloʊ ʧɛn] of Common Sense Media named it "a touching family drama wrapped in an intense 'David vs. Goliath'-style fight" in her review. In
2012, Hardy appeared on the screens in an unusual role for him, playing the lead role in a romantic comedy. It was the movie “This Means War”, in which Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine [ris ˈwɪðərˌspun ænd krɪs paɪn] played next to him. In the story, Tom plays a CIA agent who finds himself in a love triangle as he is dating a woman who is also in a relationship with his best friend. The movie became a commercial success, But received a lukewarm response from critics. Though the main thing for Hardy was not this, but the fact that
this experience turned out to be very unsuccessful for him, which he later admitted in an interview. Inset quote: "I love to do things I hadn't done before. I didn't understand how you could do something which is so much fun and be so miserable doing it. I probably won't do a romantic comedy again, do you know what I mean?" (Tom Hardy) So, Hardy tried a new experience for himself and realized that it was not what he really needed, so he decided to close this page for himself forever. And follows this rule until now. New peaks But
he was waiting for a project that would make the whole world talk about Tom Hardy. In the same year, Tom appeared on the screens in a more familiar role. He was again collaborating with Christopher Nolan - this time in the final part of the trilogy about Batman, the film “The Dark Knight Rises”. In it, Hardy got the role of the main villain, Bane [beɪn]. As it often happens in high-profile projects with A large fan base, which always has its own view of the characters and those who should play them, the actor immediately found himself under
pressure from the audience, which initially did not like this choice of the director very much. Fans believed that Hardy was nothing like the canonical Bane, who was supposed to be taller and bigger than Tom. This role became a difficult test for the actor, because he once again had to undergo serious physical changes. He gained weight again, adding about 30 pounds, after which he weighed 198 lbs. According to him, to achieve this result, he ate a lot of pizza and trained for several months, building up the muscles of the chest, shoulders and arms. Such a training
regime resulted in the fact that his upper body looked very large, but his legs were disproportionately thin. The film's stuntman and Tom's friend Jacob Tomuri liked to joke about it “Why did Tom come in riding an emu?”. But this was not enough for the fans, because they believed that Bane should be even bigger in size. This upset Hardy, which he talked about in An interview: "I'm human, and I do read things. I read the comments, and I cry. I can't cry for everybody. I just give them a job, and be the best that I can
be. Just trust me. I trust Nolan." Later, Tom noted that such transformations and excess weight had a negative impact on his health, affecting his heart. All this made him understand that he should be more careful with his body. Inset quote: “I think you pay the price with any drastic physical changes. It was alright when I was younger, to put myself under that kind of duress, but I think as you get into your 40s you have to be more mindful of the rapid training, packing on a lot of weight and getting physical…." (Tom Hardy) Another difficult
test for Tom was the mask of his character. It was necessary for Bane, because through it he could receive painkillers, reducing the pain from his injuries. But it only bothered Hardy - it was hot and difficult to breathe in it, besides, he admitted that because of it, he could not hear the people around him. It was through the use of the mask that an important part of creating Bane's image was his Voice. Tom believed that in this case it was worth paying attention to the origin of the character. With this, Hardy turned to Nolan, who
agreed to such an offer. They tweaked Bane's voice a bit, making it smoother, and the result ended up splitting the audience into different camps. Some people really liked it, while others thought it was terrible. As it turned out, before the film release, Tom completely re-recorded his lines because there were fears that the audience would not be able to understand his pronunciation. A few years later, Nolan expressed his disappointment at the less-than-warm reception of Tom's play, believing it to be underrated: “what he did with that character has yet to be fully appreciated. It’s an extraordinary performance,
and truly amazing.” Of course, the comparison of Tom's character with another thief of the DC universe, the iconic Joker performed by Heath Ledger [hiθ ˈlɛʤər], was inevitable. Even after the film release, not everyone was able to evaluate Hardy's work positively: some critics noted that watching his character was less interesting than the Joker. Although there were also those who appreciated his acting very highly. Tom himself, comparing the characters, noted such details: "The Joker didn't care — he just wanted to see the world burn, and he was a master of chaos and destruction, unscrupulous and crazy. Bane
is not that guy. There is a very meticulous and calculated way about Bane. There is a huge orchestration of organization to his ambition. He is also a physical threat to Batman. There is nothing vague about Bane. No jokes. He's a very clean, clear villain." In the end, the film lived up to the expectations of fans and just viewers, who made it a box office that amounted to more than 1 billion dollars. The movie was well received by critics. Richard Roeper [ˈroʊpər] gave it the highest score and noted it as "a majestic, gorgeous, brutal and richly
satisfying epic". On Metacritic, 17 out of 133 critics ranked “The Dark Knight Rises" first in their rankings of the best films of the year. In the same 2012, Hardy released the crime drama “Lawless”, based on the book by the writer Matt Bondurant [boʊnˈdʊrənt] “The Wettest County in the World”, in which he told about his grandfather and his brothers who lived in America during the "Dry Law" period and engaged in bootlegging. In the film Tom got the role of Forrest Bondurant, and his partners on the set were such stars as Shia LaBeouf, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska,
Jessica Chastain, Guy Pearce [ˈʃaiə lə’baf, ˈɡɛri ˈoʊldmən, ˈmiə wasikoʊskə, ˈʤɛsɪkə tʃəˈsteɪn, ɡaɪ pɪrs]. But at first the cast was completely different, with the exception of LaBeouf, who played the youngest of the family, Jack Bondurant. His brothers were to be played by James Franco [ˈfræŋkoʊ], who was invited to play the role of Howard, and Ryan Gosling, who was slated to play the role of Forrest. Actresses Amy Adams and Scarlett Johansson [ˈeɪmi ˈædəmz ænd ˈskɑrlɪt ˌʤoʊˈhɛnsən] were also in the lineup. But the project began to have problems with financing, due to which it began to fall apart.
In the end, only LaBeouf remained in the cast, who was determined to make this film. While the producers were looking for financing, LaBeouf helped with the casting. During a trip to New York, he went to the cinema, where he watched “Bronson” and was delighted with Tom Hardy's performance. Inset quote: “That shit changed my life. I went home and wrote Tom a letter saying I was a fan. He sent me a script, and I sent him Lawless. He called me back and said, ‘This is f—ing amazing.’ “ (Shia LaBeouf) As it later turned out, the film
director, John Hillcoat [hɪlkoʊt], already had Hardy on his mind. And in 2010, he came to the actor on the set of the movie “This Means War", where they agreed on the decision to cast Tom in the role of Forrest. Recalling the beginning of filming, Hardy lamented the fact that he had to get rid of the lush beard he had at the time. Although the producers eventually managed to find financing for the film, they had to save heavily during filming. The team lived in apartments in the suburbs of Atlanta, and filming mainly took place in real
locations - in churches, gas stations and in open areas. Although it was LaBeouf who was one of the inspirations for Hardy's invitation to the Role in the film, they did not get along very well during filming, having moments of tension, which eventually resulted in a real fight. As LaBeouf recalled, one day Tom broke into his room and pulled him out of bed, in which he was with a girl at the time. During the fight, they moved from the room to the hallway, where Hardy tripped and fell down the stairs, injuring his back. Despite these troubles,
the actors in public communication with the press were always very complementary to each other, noting the high acting skills of their colleagues. The film was included in the competition program of the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a 10-minute standing ovation. Critics assessed it ambiguously: "Grim, bloody, and utterly flawed, Lawless doesn't quite achieve the epic status it strains for, but it's too beautifully filmed and powerfully acted to dismiss." At the box office, the film was successful, grossing a pretty good 54.4 million dollars against a budget of 26 million. In 2013, Hardy signed on to play
Elton John in the biopic “Rocketman”. This film was long Delayed due to problems during development, and 5 years later Hardy dropped out of the project and was replaced by Taron Egerton [ˈɛɡərtən]. Among the reasons for such a replacement was the fact that Hardy was no longer suitable for the role due to his age - he was already 41 years old at that time. It was also a problem that he could not sing, so it was assumed that Lip sync technology would be used for him. The director did not like this and Hardy himself felt that
he was not very good at performing this element. In the same 2013, the actor released the film “Locke”, in which he played the main role of Ivan Locke [lɑk], the character who was the only one present on the screen during the entire film duration. The entire timeline consisted of Locke's car rides and his hands-free phone conversations. Locke was very positively received by critics, and of course Hardy received the greatest praise, on whom the entire film was based. Empire columnist Olly Richards [ˈrɪʧərdz] noted: "It's a daring experiment brilliantly executed, with Tom Hardy giving one of the
best performances of his career". The following year, Hardy appeared in Michaël R. Roskam's [ˈrɑskəmz] “The Drop”. Among Tom's partners on the set were Noomi Rapace ["noo" + "mee" + "ruh" + "pas"] and James Gandolfini [ɡandolˈfiːni]. Also, among the main characters of the movie was a dog - a pit bull named Rocco. Since Hardy has been a known dog lover, such a colleague on the set was a great joy for him. In the movie, the role of Rocco was played by several dogs and Tom found a common language with all of them, even taking one of
them with him from the shooting for the night. Inset quote: “I said, “Can I take J home tonight and just cuddle?” And Kim was like, “Sure!” [...] He used to come home with me from work, which is such a privilege — to be able to take home a co-star. And he would stare at me, and I would eat pizza, and he would sit at the bottom of my feet and watch me [...] I’d turn up at the apartment and I’d have him over my shoulder, in my puffy jacket and my hood”. (Tom Hardy) Hardy himself
was the owner of two dogs: Max and Woodstock. The first one appeared when he was 17 Years old. A friend of his at the time had a dog named Cass, which young Tom liked so much that he even asked his friend to give him one of her puppies if she had any. The friend agreed, but after a while he disappeared. At some point, Hardy decided to visit this friend's mom, and it was she who said that they had something for him - this something was the promised puppy from Cass. The puppy was called Mad Max
- in honor of the same movie in which Hardy starred many years later. Tom didn't like the name very much, because he didn't think the puppy was either evil or crazy. Because of this, he invented the nickname Moose for him. Unfortunately, Max died back in 2011, before that he was seriously ill, suffered a heart attack and was even treated with beta-blockers. Hardy found his second dog, Woodstock, while filming “Lawless”. He was driving on the freeway with his co-star Jessica Chastain and almost hit a puppy, 11-month-old Woodstock, on the road. The little one tried to run
away, but together with Jessica, they caught up with him and took him to the set. Later, Jessica's Mother took care of him for six months - this was necessary to pass the needed quarantine period so that Hardy could take the dog to London. Woodstock became a true friend and constant companion for Tom - he visited many shootings and film premieres with the actor. But, unfortunately, this dog lived only 6 years and died in 2017, due to polymyositis, with which he fought for 6 months. Hardy wrote a very emotional open letter about it, in which he
talked about how important Woodstock was to him. Inset quote: To the bestest friend ever. To me and to a family who loved him beyond words and whom he loved without doubt more than I have ever known. Woody was the bestest of journey companions we ever could dream of having. Our souls intertwined forever [...] Thank you Woody for choosing to find us. We will love you and be with you and you with us forever. (Tom Hardy) And the film “The Drop” after its release received good reviews from critics, who especially noted the performance of Hardy and
James Gandolfini. During the same period, Hardy appeared in the unsuccessful mystical thriller “Child 44”, Which tells the story of a serial killer of children in the Stalinist USSR. The film flopped at the box office, grossing only $13 million on a $50 million budget, and was poorly received by critics, earning a 27% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But Hardy's acting, despite this, was again very well appreciated. But later he joined the cast of the very popular British series Peaky Blinders, where he played the role of Alfie Solomons [ˈsɑləmənz]. Tom appeared in the project in the second season
and remained in it until the end. For this series, he reunited with director Steven Knight, who also directed “Locke”. The director, who was also the screenwriter of the series, said that the character of Alfie was created without being based on Hardy, but the actor managed to form the rod on which the character was held. Even before filming began, he spoke to Knight and gave him his own idea of what Alfie should be. Knight later reminisced about this conversation, in which Hardy offered a concept in which he saw his character as a bear - sometimes a
good bear, then a bad bear, and when He was angry, he would become a scary bear. Inset quote: “It's raining and the crew are standing there looking at me like, 'What is he doing there in this graveyard, under a tree, having this conversation with Tom Hardy about being a bear?' And I was like, 'So you want a beard?' and he was like, 'Yeah.' And I was like, 'Cool, that sounds awesome, that sounds wicked.'" (Steven Knight) So Hardy grew a beard, and also played a huge role in creating not only his character's appearance, but also his
distinctive accent. Cillian Murphy [ˈmɜrfi] shared his impression of Tom's work: "You never quite know what to expect with Tom. But he absolutely, I mean, that character came fully formed. He just absolutely knew what he was doing there." The Peaky Blinders star also said in an interview that he considered Hardy one of the best actors and emphasized that he would very much like to work with him again. The series has gained immense popularity in Britain and other countries around the world. It had high audience ratings, Received a large number of nominations, won at various television awards,
and was highly praised by critics. On the IMDB website, the series has a rating of 8.8 out of 10. During the filming, Hardy continued to work in the movies. His next project was the post-apocalyptic action film “Mad Max: Fury Road” directed by George Miller [ˈmɪlər], released in 2015. This film was a continuation of the famous franchise, released in the 70s and 80s with Mel Gibson [ˈɡɪbsən] in the lead role. It was Tom who played the role of Mel Gibson's character, Max Rockatansky [rɑkə’tænskɪ], in the continuation of the franchise. Miller, who also directed the first three
parts, made Fury Road back in 1987, but the film development was extremely difficult and lasted for 11 years. But even after that, filming was constantly postponed for various reasons. As a result, when all the problems were settled and filming could begin, it turned out that Mel Gibson, who was planned for the main role in this film, was already too old. The search for the role of Max began, among The applicants for which were such famous names as Armie Hammer, Michael Fassbender, Heath Ledger, Eric Bana [ˈɑrmi ˈhæmər, ˈmaɪkəl ˈfæsˌbɛndər, hiθ ˈlɛʤər, ˈɛrɪk bænə] and even Eminem.
However, the director made a choice precisely in favor of Tom Hardy. Later he explained it as follows: Inset quote: "He definitely reminded me of Mel when Mel walked through the door thirty years before. They have that immediate lovability, but at the same time, there's a danger to them." (George Miller) Hardy said that before the beginning of filming, he did not understand exactly what his role would be, exactly how he should portray Max. Even during the audition, according to him, there were no specifics: “It was unorthodox to the point where actually I could have been auditioning
for anything. It was an anonymous read. [Miller and I] haven't actually gotten into the conversation at all about Max." He also added that for him Max was entirely and completely George Miller's creation, so when creating this character, he relied on the director's vision. It was also important for Hardy to create a new character without trying to recreate Max, who was played by Mel Gibson. He shared his vision of this character, noting the important aspects for him: Inset quote: “Mad Max is, like, the coolest superhero that a boy could get. 'Cause there's no cape, there's no
rubber suit. There's no flying. Nothing really hurts Batman or Superman. Everything hurts in Mad Max. Those kind of heroes, they excite me because they are ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. They are fallible. And when they jump, they're not sure if they're going to make it to the other side”. (Tom Hardy) Tom said that before filming, Miller gave him a 300-page comic in which every frame of the film was reproduced to facilitate the process of preparing for the role. The actor also chatted with Gibson, although he later admitted that they talked about anything but Max during
that dinner. And already on the set Hardy was given the iconic jacket of Max Rockatansky, in which Gibson played in previous films. "I put it on and it fit like a glove," the actor said about it later. Tom's partner in the film was Charlize Theron [ˈθə’ron], who played the role of Imperator Furiosa. As it turned out later, during filming, the actors had a lot of conflict due to different visions of acting styles. Theron said that she felt threatened by Hardy, because he behaved very aggressively. They screamed at each other when Tom made Charlize wait for
him on set for hours. She also admitted that once they almost had a fight. Tom later apologized for his behavior and regretted the way he treated his partner: “I think in hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways. The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times. What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced, partner in me”. The actor also said that the filming was as physically demanding as possible. Filming mainly took place in The Dorob National Park in Namibia [nəˈmɪbiə]. Most of the scenes and effects were shot without the use
of computer graphics, which added complexity to the process, but also made the picture more realistic. Inset quote: "Some of the stuff they were doing, it's unbelievable. Like fifty vehicles out at once, moving Across the desert at forty kilometers an hour, the whole movie on the move, cars and vehicles as platforms of action—it's crazy. And none of it's CGI. It's like trying to fit three alligators in a bathtub. It's like trying to take a shower in a bathtub with three alligators." (Tom Hardy) The finished product was worth all the efforts that the director put into its
creation - the film received a truly cult status. It was highly praised by critics, with Peter Travers [ˈtrævərz] of Rolling Stone magazine calling the film a new action classic. They also noted the performance of the main characters, Theron and Hardy, calling them "one of the best action duos ever, in one of the best action movies." “Mad Max: Fury Road” has also made many lists of the best films of the decade. The main awards did not bypass the movie - it was nominated for an Oscar in 10 categories, of which it won in 6. Other awards
include 4 awards out of 7 nominations at the BAFTA Awards and 2 nominations at the Golden Globe Awards. The box office was also good - the film grossed More than 380 million dollars worldwide, with a budget that fluctuated between 154-185 million. In the same 2015, the actor released the film “London Road”. It is a musical detective-crime drama based on the British Royal National Theater musical of the same name and based on the true story of Steve Wright [raɪt], better known as the Suffolk Strangler, who was imprisoned for life for murdering five women. The film received
good reviews from critics, but went unnoticed at the box office. Also this year, Hardy appeared in another film - the biographical crime thriller “Legend" by director Brian Helgeland [hælɡəlend], which tells the true story of the Kray [kreɪ] brothers, famous in America. Tom's co-stars included Emily Browning and David Thewlis [ˈɛmɪli ˈbraʊnɪŋ ænd ˈdeɪvɪd ˈθjulɪs]. Hardy's role in this film was unusual, because he had to play both brothers, Ronald and Reginald, who were twins. Tom admitted that it was not easy to prepare for the roles, because there was not much material on which it was possible to
study the brothers’ real life. He said that there Was only one visual primary source — a roughly one-minute performance by the brothers on the BBC. He also used footage from a documentary film and diaries for preparation. In addition, there were mainly photographs and various legends, which were told about the brothers. Since the film had a limited budget, it was very difficult to shoot scenes in which both Tom's characters had to be present on screen. No computer graphics were used for filming, so the team had to use old, proven film techniques, such as splitting frames. When
filming the interaction of the characters, the role of the second brother, whose face is not visible, was performed by Hardy's regular understudy, Jacob Tomuri [təˈmʊri]. There was also the technique of recording the lines of both characters, after which they were heard by Tom through an earpiece during the scenes of conversations between the brothers. “Legend” managed to pay for itself at the box office, but critics rated it quite mediocre, drawing the following common conclusion: "As a gangster biopic, Legend is deeply flawed, but as a Showcase for Tom Hardy – in a dual role, no less –
it just about lives up to its title." It was Hardy who became the main star of this film, receiving 9 nominations at various awards for his dual role. But the fruitful year of 2015 for the actor did not end there either, because in December, there was the premiere of another film - The Revenant by Alejandro Iñárritu [al-ee-HAND-roe in-YAR-ee-too], in which Hardy's partner on the set was again Leonardo DiCaprio, with whom they had already crossed paths in the film “Inception”. It was with DiCaprio that a funny episode was associated, the result of which was another tattoo
on Tom Hardy’s body. Before the ceremony to announce the nominees for the Academy Awards, the actors had a bet on whether Tom would receive a nomination. Hardy bet he wouldn't be nominated, Leo thought the opposite. The bet for victory was a tattoo: if Hardy won, Leo would have to get a tattoo that Tom would choose, and if DiCaprio won, everything would be the other way around. As we know, Leo won because Hardy was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. So, Tom had to fulfill his part of the promise. Inset quote: “He wrote, in
this really shitty handwriting: ‘Leo knows everything,’. Ha! I was like, ‘O.K., I’ll get it done, but you have to write it properly.’ [...] F**ker. He would never get a tattoo if he lost that bet! It was just one-way. I’m covered in shit tattoos anyway, so it doesn’t make any difference to me.” (Tom Hardy) The filming of The Revenant lasted almost a year, from October 2014 to August 2015, although the deadlines were primarily shorter. This delay was due to the fact that Iñárritu wanted all scenes to be shot exclusively using natural light. Due to this, periods
of active filming were very limited - DiCaprio called them "an hour and a half of magic light". All the rest of the day was devoted to long rehearsals, during which all the scenes were worked out to automatism, which was very important in the conditions of the limited time allocated directly for shooting. Also, a large part of the shooting days was spent on getting to the shooting location, because some scenes were shot in very remote parts of the country, where it was quite difficult to get there. It was because of the difficult filming schedule and the
constant postponement of the completion dates that Hardy had to give up work on “Suicide Squad”, where he was supposed to play the role of Rick Flagg [flæɡ], which eventually went to Joel Kinnaman [ˈkɪnəmən]. For the actors and the entire team, this film became a difficult test, because they had to shoot in difficult weather conditions, in severe frosts. DiCaprio said that he constantly had to suffer from hypothermia. Hardy also said that because of the extreme cold, he dressed in a way that made it difficult to move — he might have a wetsuit and several layers of
thermals under the character's costume. The finished film received good reviews from critics and a bunch of nominations for various awards, including the most important ones. Although DiCaprio was the main star and centerpiece of the film, Hardy also received his share of praise for his performance, culminating, of course, in an Oscar nomination, the actor's first. And, although he did not manage to win, this nomination became for Tom an objective Confirmation of the recognition of his acting talent, which had long been obvious to everyone. Hardy's career success continued, and in 2017 he reunited with Christopher Nolan for
the third time, this time for “Dunkirk”. In it, he got the role of Farrier [ˈfɛriər], a pilot of the British Royal Air Force. This character was fictional, but based on a real prototype - New Zealand pilot Alan Deere [dɪr], who was a participant in the operation to evacuate British and French soldiers from Dunkirk. As Nolan later said, when creating this character, he did not think about Tom, but when he was completely ready, he realized that only Hardy could play him. Therefore, he called the actor and persuaded him to accept this role. This choice of the
director was due to the fact that during the filming Farrier was constantly in the cockpit of the plane, in a limited space. And Nolan knew that it was Hardy who could handle it the best, because he had already done it in the movie “Locke”. It also became important that the pilot had to be in an oxygen mask almost all the time, covering his entire face, Leaving only his eyes open. After all, Tom already had such an experience - in The Dark Knight, where he was filmed by Nolan. Inset quote: "I’ve had great experience hiding Tom
behind masks and showing that he can act with only his eyes. It's all there, he has the most expressive eyes. He can pull the audience into the moment in an amazing way even with most of his face covered." (Christopher Nolan) Like most of Nolan's films, this one also became very successful - it grossed half a billion dollars at the box office, received more than favorable reviews from critics and was nominated for an Oscar in 8 categories, of which it won three. In the same period, Hardy was trying himself in a new role - he was
engaged in the creation of his own 8-episode series “Taboo”, in the development of which the director Steven Knight, with whom he worked in Peaky Blinders, and his father, Chips Hardy, also participated. Hardy himself played the main role: adventurer and trader James Delaney [dəˈleɪni]. According to Tom, the idea for this project came To him back in 2007, when he played in the series Oliver Twist. He said that the main character was conceived as "a Sherlock Holmes-type detective, a bit more physical as well as smart, but who has that hyper-vigilance; a spiritual, hybrid shaman-cum-cannibal-serial-killer-type thing". And the
series itself was supposed to be an "anti-Downton" and take the viewer to places that are usually not included in series of this genre. The project received good reviews from critics, who noted Hardy's performance and the aesthetic side of the series and concluded that "After a sluggish start, Taboo takes a hold as a mysterious, dark, and often brutal period drama with plenty of promise as a series – most notably Tom Hardy's exceptionally watchable performance". The series was released during January-February 2017, and already in March it was announced that it was renewed for a second season. It
was also supposed to consist of 8 episodes, which were written by the series team in the following years. As of November 2021, 6 out of 8 episodes were written, and in May 2022, Steven Knight announced that filming will roughly begin at the end of 2023. Such long delays in the preparation of the series were due to Tom Hardy's busy schedule. And before we tell you what happened to the actor next, we suggest that you quickly subscribe to the channel and press the bell button so that you can always watch new videos about your favorite stars
on time! Subscribe, and we continue! Venom In the era of huge popularity of superhero films, all the most famous, best actors almost always become the heroes of such projects. The same thing happened with Tom Hardy, who signed up for the main role in the new franchise of the superhero universe - the film Venom and its sequels. The contract was signed for 3 films at once. The choice of this particular hero, known but not the most popular, was due to personal reasons for the actor. Hardy said that his son is a big fan of Venom and
it was he who helped him get the character right on screen. Inset quote: “He was pretty much in the driving seat for most of it, and I did use him as my anthology and mythology wizard. He told me what I was doing wrong and I Was doing more things wrong than I was doing right because children are deeply honest. He was my little spirit guide in that aspect. So as far as I’m concerned, I passed his [test], and that’s the best I could do.” (Tom Hardy) Tom also found for himself as an actor a very
attractive opportunity to recreate the interaction between Eddie Brock [brɑk] and the symbiote: “The inner conflict and the struggle between primal need which is the Venom. ‘When do we eat? The earth is an all you can eat buffet and why can I not do as I wish whenever I want.’ And Eddie Brock, who has very few scruples trying to create an ethical framework in order to negotiate the terms of this alien living inside of him”. Creating the character once again involved having to change the voice to play Venom. To do this, Hardy combined the voices of
famous musicians: Busta Rhymes, Method Man & Redman and James Brown, forming a unique mixture that became the voice of Venom. Also, in the process of reproducing the voice of the symbiote, the now deceased voice actor Brad Venable [ˈvɛnəbəl] participated, whose name did not even make it to the credits. Venom's voice was created in post-production by layering Hardy's voice over his own and Venable's voice. Brad also voiced those sounds that were supposed to demonstrate the feeling of pain and discomfort in the symbiote. The film director, Ruben Fleischer [ˈflaɪʃər], allowed Hardy to improvise not only with the
voice of Venom, but also in other aspects. For example, it was Tom who came up with the famous scene in which Eddie Brock climbs into a lobster tank in a restaurant to cool off. The film involved the use of a large number of special effects and computer graphics, which helped to create memorable scenes for the audience. But what looked so heartbreaking on the screen was sometimes very funny in real life. Like, for example, the epic fight between Hardy and Riz Ahmed [ˈɑməd], who played Carlton Drake [dreɪk], the filming process of which Tom posted on his
Instagram. The film was not well received by critics who described it as boring and messy. Hardy was also scolded rather than praised. But the audience evaluated “Venom” much more positively, There was also a large number of people who wanted to watch the film only because of the presence of Tom Hardy in it. The box office was very good — the film grossed 856 million dollars, fully paying off its budget. The continuation of the franchise, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage", released in 2021, was a box office success, although it grossed less than the first part. Critics
again did not appreciate it very favorably, criticizing the script, but positively noted the performance of Hardy and Woody Harrelson [ˈhɛrɪlsən], who played the role of Cletus Kasady [klɪtəs ‘kɛsədɪ]. In this movie, Tom changed Venom's voice a bit, making it more upbeat and less threatening. This was necessary to show the evolution of the character, who has now become more human and domesticated. An interesting aspect was the nuance added to Eddie Brock's clothes - he wore a university jacket with the inscription "Mumford Phys. Ed. Dept.”, which was familiar to fans of the movie “Beverly Hills Cop”. Hardy
himself was a big fan of this movie, so this reference to the Clothing of the Eddie Murphy’s [ˈmɜrfiz] character became a very pleasant nostalgic note for him. It was also important that Tom co-wrote the screenplay with Kelly Marcel [mɑrˈsɛl]. They also worked together on the third part of the franchise. Filming on the third film began in June 2023, but was halted for an extended period due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA actors' and writers' strike. The resumption of filming took place only in November, and the film release is scheduled for November 2024. In 2019, Hardy acted
as an executive producer of the mini-series “A Christmas Carol”, which was created in the genre of dark fantasy and based on the novel of the same name by Charles Dickens. The screenwriter of the project was an old acquaintance of Tom, Steven Knight [naɪt], and among the actors were Guy Pearce, Andy Serkis [ɡaɪ pɪrs, ˈændi ˈsekəs] and Hardy's wife Charlotte Riley. The series was released on television screens in the United States and Britain on Christmas Eve. The first episode of the series had the highest number of views in a week in Britain. Since its Release, over
7 million viewers have watched it in the next 7 days. Although the next 2 episodes already had lower ratings, the project could still be considered quite successful. In 2020, Tom began to work on a rather strange project - the biographical drama “Capone”, in which he plays the main role of the famous gangster Al Capone [æl kəˈpoʊn]. In this film, Capone is seen from a very unusual point of view, not in his prime, but in his fading phase, as an old man whose mind is slowly decaying due to neurosyphilis. The director and screenwriter of the film,
Josh Trank [træŋk], considered Hardy to be the only actor who could fulfill this role. Inset quote: "He's the only actor I know of who can command such power while at the same time simultaneously catapult himself into these childish theatrics and these absurd places, and then just walk right back down to earth. I had all those things in my mind. I was just like, 'This would be great for Tom Hardy.'" (Josh Trank) Trank said that he sent Tom the script, and he read it in just a day, after which he called The director and they discussed
the details of the upcoming film for more than 6 hours. Then Trank even flew to Hardy in London, where they met and talked about Capone for 1.5 weeks. Of course, when creating the character, Hardy was experimenting with the voice again. Since no recordings of Al Capone's real voice survived, the actor and director had to improvise. Trank decided to use as an example the singer Jimmy Durante [dʊˈrɑnti], who was also Italian from Brooklyn, where Capone was born. Based on his pronunciation, he and Tom created a special accent that Hardy used in the film. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the film was not released in theaters as planned. It could be watched on iTunes, Apple TV and other services, where in the first days it occupied the highest places in terms of views. It earned $2.5 million in 10 days of digital sales. The reviews of the critics were not favorable - on Rotten Tomatoes the film rating was 40% with the following conclusion: "Tom Hardy makes the most of his opportunity to tackle a challenging role, but Capone is too haphazardly constructed To support his fascinating performance." Hardy's other projects during this period include working as
a narrator in the documentaries “All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur” and “Falklands War: The Untold Story”. He also continued to work with Stephen Knight as an executive producer. Together, they once again created a TV series based on Charles Dickens' novel “Great Expectations”. It appeared on television screens in March-April 2023 and received mediocre reviews from critics. Also in 2023, Tom appeared in the drama “The Bikeriders”, directed by Jeff Nichols [ˈnɪkəlz]. The movie tells a fictional story about a motorcycle club in Chicago in the 1960s. Due to the strike, the release of the film had to be postponed
to June 2024. The premiere took place at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023. The film received positive reviews from critics who noted that "Fueled by a charismatic cast and the gritty authenticity of writer-director Jeff Nichols' approach, The Bikeriders offers a conventional yet impactful look at motorcycle culture." In 2024, the world finally waited for the Third final part about the adventures of Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote. Venom: The Last Dance debuted with $51,000,000 in the US and in general $ 175,000,000 on a total budget of $ 120 million. The indicator is not very
rosy, both for the American Film Market as a whole and for the franchise. Like its predecessor, the film received mixed reviews from critics. At the same time, many of the fans were happy with how the story ended. Tom Hardy, in turn, said that he is not ready to finally say goodbye to Venom, so it is quite possible that we will see his cameo in other Sony films. "I've loved every moment of Eddie and Venom and I was really fond of them," Hardy said. "I'd play them any time, you know, because there's a special place that
exists within me to want to operate those two characters wherever you put them in whatever capacity. I feel like a sense of obligation and responsibility and duty of care to those two that will never end. I'll always be with them." Interestingly, Tom considers his 16-year-old son Louis to be the greatest critic of his films. The Guy has been giving his comments about Venom since he was just 8 or 7 years old. "Comic books exist differently for children, in many aspects. There is no filter on the child," - the actor believes, "They'll tell you what they
feel [and] what they think because the characters are super important to them.' Tom Hardy's upcoming projects include the action-thriller Havoc, which was shot during 2021. The film tells the story of a detective who is looking for the missing son of a politician and along with that unravels a network of corruption and conspiracies. Tom's off-screen life is also very active. He is involved in philanthropy - he is an ambassador for the Prince's Trust charity, which helps vulnerable teenagers and young people aged 11 to 30, providing them with education and personal development. Also, together with his wife,
he takes care of the organization for the fight against bowel cancer in Britain. Hardy is also an ambassador for the REORG Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Foundation, which helps former And active military use the martial arts to heal and combat physical and psychological issues. He cooperates with this organization not by chance, because he is a big fan of this martial art. Tom practices jiu-jitsu regularly and has even won some competitions, such as the Brazilian Open in September 2022. And in June 2023, he even received a purple belt. In addition, he is a Knight of the Order of the
British Empire, which he received in 2018 for services to the arts. If you look at Tom Hardy's resume, you can see that most of his roles are gangsters and thugs, although the actor himself has always said that he is not at all a stereotypical alpha male. As he noted, “Initially I took on these kinds of roles to make a noise. No one’s ever sat up when I’ve played someone nice or easy to watch.” Besides, according to him, he saw something more than just cruelty in such characters. Inset quote: “There is another component to those characters,
which is a kind of legitimate or illegitimate suffering in their psyche, which is more exciting to me. I’m playing people who have an obstacle to overcome and struggle To express that.” (Tom Hardy) Even in such strict characters, Hardy always brought some mischief, humor, sharpness, which made him noticeable, and attracted the eye to him immediately when he appeared on the screen. Another important aspect that Tom talked about in the interview is that he does not see himself as a courageous person. He admitted that he considered himself no more courageous than an eggplant, and men even scared
him. And in this situation, when some people cause him real terror, his choice is to try to imitate them in their roles, thus reducing his fear: "I don't feel rugged and strong and capable in real life, not how I imagine a man ought to be. So I seek it, to mimic it and maybe understand it, or maybe to draw it into my own reality." This is how he acted, for example, in “Bronson”, because through this role he managed to express all that he knew about men, fear and his fear of men. As a result, he
was so convincing that he managed to scare not only the audience, but even the film crew. Talking about his choice of roles and characters, which have little resemblance to the real him, Tom also explained this by the fact that he struggled for a long time with the concept of growing up. “I think all the baddies and all those sorts of ‘grrrr’ characters that I’ve played, I’m not that. The whole acting thing has been kind of peacock-ish, counter to what I am,” he told, “What’s most indelible on my memory are things that are shocking or scary
so it’s very easy to mimic them. It’s actually much harder to mimic things that are soft and nice and intimate if you don’t grow up in that way. Now I’m getting older these things are becoming less scary.” Now Tom Hardy feels completely different - he is satisfied with his life, finally an adult and one who got rid of childhood fears. Inset quote: “I’m not so worried to disappear now. When I was a youngster you had to be heard, otherwise you’d be invisible. Once you’ve established yourself you can stop making that much noise. Because you’re here
now, what are you going to do? And what is enough? What do you need? What do my family need? So that is very Relevant. I think everybody needs a little bit of their own thing that they do. I like jiu-jitsu and sourdough. That fulfils me.” (Tom Hardy) We could only be happy for the actor and wish him new brilliant roles for the joy of fans of his talent and other viewers. And we suggest you click on the icons on the screen to see other interesting videos about your favorite actors! And press like if you enjoyed
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