Rude, talented, a drug addict and a Siberian by as much as 22 percent. Breaking down who Edward Thomas Hardy really is!
You don’t have to be a Hollywood fan to know that Tom Hardy is considered one of the most talented actors of his generation… or that he has a reputation for not always being willing to play by Hollywood rules.
Since his debut, Tom has managed to work with some of the most talented directors including Ridley Scott, George Miller, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Sofia Coppola and Christopher Nolan. Who is Tom Hardy really and what is behind his talent and success?
Tom Hardy before fame: alcohol and drug problems
The actor’s past may come as a shock to some. Take at least the fact that he first experimented with hallucinogens at the age of 13. Coming from a wealthy London family, Tom was expelled from boarding school for stealing and quickly became addicted to hard drugs. He was also arrested for stealing a Mercedes and busted for gun possession at age 17, but somehow he managed to get out of the situation. Probably thanks to the help of a friend’s diplomat father, with whom he was apprehended.
Tom studied acting at the London Drama Center, and during this time, his addiction only seemed to get worse. After a particularly nasty incident in Soho in 2003, Hardy finally decided to seek help. “I did 28 days and after listening to people who had been through similar situations, I realized I did have a problem,” the actor admitted in later interviews.
Hardy admitted that drugs and alcohol accompanied much of his youth, but now he feels that work has replaced them. “Sometimes it’s like having another glass of beer: I’m going to do the next movie and then the next one, keep going, keep going,” he explained.
In a 2017 interview with the Daily Mirror, he said he learned how to “manage” his demons through rehab. But! Despite controlling his cravings, Hardy can still “ruin everything” if he drinks too much. “If I had four pints of lager and half a bottle of vodka, I could turn this room into a nightmare in about three minutes,” Tom admitted to the Mirror.
Tom Hardy is hitting his stride
Hardy landed his first role – Private John Janowitz – in the BBC mini-series Brothers in Arms, which was followed by his big movie debut, The Fall of Black Hawk.
After rehab, Hardy’s acting career skyrocketed: he eventually played leading roles in films such as “Mad Max: Fury Road”, “Survivor” and three Christopher Nolan blockbusters: “Inception”, “The Dark Knight: Legend Reborn” and “Dunkirk”. He has also starred in several TV series, including “Sharp Visors” and “Taboo.” He worked on the latter with his father, novelist-writer Edward Hardy.
Tom Hardy and Venom
Playing journalist Eddie Brock, who shares his body with the villainous parasite in the Venom movies, Hardy has found that past addiction helps him work through his character better. “It’s like playing out mental illness, some aspects of which I’m very aware of because I’ve had a certain amount of my own mental health issues that have to do with addiction,” he told Esquire in 2018.
Tom Hardy’s character
Tough, difficult and multi-faceted – that’s how Tom Hardy can be described if you read a lot of stories about him from both colleagues and fans. Being a secretive person, Hardy keeps a lot of things in his past, but what he reveals paints a picture that isn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows. Perhaps the dark characters he plays are fueled by the very “demons” he dealt with in his youth.
That said, Tom is an extremely sentimental person. What, you didn’t expect that? When he had to cry on set, Hardy had to dig deep to trigger a waterfall of tears, saying, “It’s hard for me to cry…and I don’t know what will bring me to tears. If my son tells me he loves me, that would make me cry… ‘Bambi’ would probably do that to me. Or ‘Shrek’.”
Risk is Hardy’s middle name. During the filming of Legend, the real Ronnie and Reggie Kray hired hitman Freddie Foreman, whom Hardy had met on several occasions. The mobsters wanted to make sure he played them right. He must have been a great teacher, because Hardy perfectly internalized the Kray brothers’ mannerisms and startled Foreman when he spoke to him on behalf of one of the brothers.
In fact, Tom is far from happy when too much attention is drawn to him. “I’m just a scared guy… Everything scares me. The lack of control, the not knowing, the waiting. The fear itself. I’m doing really well today, but I can always find something to worry about, even being on a pedestal. It’s always with me,” he told Mirror in an interview.
Tom Hardy’s quarrels with actors and directors
The pressure on Hardy and Theron during the filming of “Mad Max” was incredibly intense, leading to a fight between the two right on the set. When filming wrapped up and Hardy had time to clear his head, he realized that he should have treated Theron more kindly. He admitted, “She needed a better, perhaps more experienced partner in the form of me… I’d like to think. that now that I’m older and more experienced, I might come out on top.”
Nevertheless, his behavior definitely discouraged many. Everyone agreed that the nightmarish filming conditions made the entire crew act a little strange, but almost every actor noted Hardy’s offensive actions, with Zoe Kravitz calling him a “boomer.”
After shooting Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio had Hardy read the script for Survivor and take on the role of the conniving John Fitzgerald. Filming began years later and… didn’t go well. During filming, Hardy had such a huge fight with director Alejandro González Iñárritu that he later created a T-shirt depicting his character clutching Iñárritu in a chokehold.
What’s wrong with Tom Hardy’s finger?
If you look closely at photos of Tom’s hands, you’ll notice that there’s clearly something wrong with one of his pinky fingers. The story behind this injury is frightening, but somewhat amusing. In his youth, Hardy was playing with a kitchen knife and accidentally damaged the tendon of the little finger of the right hand. As a result, the little finger is now permanently bent.
Hardy’s finger problem isn’t always obvious in the movies, though it’s pretty easy to spot in the scene with Ben Mendelsohn in The Dark Knight: Legend Reborn where Bane, played by Hardy, puts his hand on Daggett’s face.
Where has Tom Hardy been in Russia?
In 2012, Hardy was invited to take part in a Discovery Channel documentary called “Pushed to the Limit”. The project was dedicated to the coldest route on the planet – the Siberian road Yakutsk-Oymyakon. Along with former Formula 1 driver Mika Salo and several teammates, Hardy drove more than 1,000 kilometers on a frozen icy stretch through incredibly remote areas where temperatures plummeted to -50 °C.
Although amazed by the beauty of Siberian nature, Hardy feared for his health in sub-zero temperatures. “Your fingers will start to freeze and fall off – it’s no joke,” he said. The last stop of the trip was Oymyakon, the coldest inhabited place on Earth, where temperatures can drop to -71 °C. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity to stand here today,” Hardy said.
Hardy visited Russia again in September 2018, and this recent trip was much more comfortable and relaxed than his Siberia trip. The actor traveled to Moscow to promote his new movie Venom. Hardy took a peaceful stroll through Zaryadye Park in the center of the capital, and also popped into the Moscow metro, where he rubbed his nose on a dog sculpture at the Ploshchad Revolyutsii station.
Interestingly, Hardy arrived in Moscow with an amulet given to him by a shamaness during his Siberian adventure. The actor admitted that he has been wearing it for the last six years: “I don’t know what draws me here… But you know what? I recently took a DNA test and found out I’m 22 percent Siberian!”
Who was Tom Hardy dating?
Hardy met his current wife, actress Charlotte Riley, on the set of the 2009 television adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Tom and Charlotte played the roles of Katie and Heathcliff in it. They married in July 2014 and had a child together in October 2015. At the time they first met, Hardy was going through a breakup with the mother of his first son Louis, Rachel Speed.
How many children does Tom Hardy have?
The actor once admitted that in order to become the best version of himself, “you have to be someone’s father, get divorced, go to rehab, take out a mortgage, play different characters, do theater, wait, and then be humbled if something doesn’t happen the way you planned it.” Well anyone, but Tom has managed to become a dad three times: son Louis from his marriage to Rachel Speed and two children in his marriage to Charlotte Riley. The name of their eldest child is unknown, but the youngest child is named Forrest.
Best Tom Hardy movies
Hardy played the dual role of Reggie and Ron Kray, two criminal masterminds who ruled the underworld of 1960s London. The movie received mixed and negative reviews from critics, but audiences were still taken in by Hardy’s work and atmosphere.
The World’s Drunkest County
This movie was a finalist for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie is set during the Great Depression and tells the story of the lives of three bootleggers. The brothers are involved in the business of selling illegal alcohol. Hardy plays one of them.
Locke
For this role, Hardy won the Los Angeles Film Critics Award for best actor. The movie tells the story of a man whose personal life and career are in crisis. Much of the story is told in the phone calls Hardy makes to his family and coworkers during a long trip he takes to be with the woman who gives birth to his child after a one-night stand.
The Commons
Hardy plays a bartender working at a Brooklyn bar that is actually a front for the dealings of Russian mobsters. The movie earned Hardy a nomination for Best Actor from the London Society of Critics.In
Warrior
Hardy plays a boxer who reunites with his father, a recovering alcoholic. The father begins training Hardy in mixed martial arts, which reignites an old sibling rivalry with Hardy’s brother, played by Joel Edgerton.
Beginning
“Inception” was one of, if not the most talked about movie of 2010. Some liked it, while others were confused by its convoluted sci-fi plot. Hardy plays one of the members of DiCaprio’s team, which specializes in stealing people’s identities through their dreams. The movie received a Best Picture nomination and won 4 Oscars in technical categories.
Dunkirk (2017)
Hardy reunites with director Christopher Nolan to create a movie about a famous battle that took place during World War II. Hardy plays one of the soldiers who takes command after his superior is killed. The movie received 8 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and won three statuettes.
The Dark Knight: Legend Reborn
Hardy plays the villain Bane in the third and final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman saga. Tom is terrifying and menacing in the role. This was even more of an accomplishment for the cutter, as his face was covered by a mask most of the time on screen. Hardy gained thirteen pounds of extra muscle mass for this role.
Survivor
Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar for his role as a fur trader trying to survive a bear attack. Hardy plays the vicious hunter who battles DiCaprio. Hardy even managed to get nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars after being eliminated from contention for all previous awards.
Venom
Tom Hardy’s superb performance is the lifeline to Ruben Fleischer’s divisive Venom movie. Eddie Brock, played by Hardy, is an investigative reporter who accidentally becomes involved with an alien entity. It is one of many symbiotic aliens that have invaded Earth. The symbiote gives Brock superpowers that ruin his life, but also help him expose the atrocities of the genetic corporation.
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