2012: The Year of Tom Hardy
So I could sit here and give you his whole IMDB page, disguised as an article. A lot of online journalists do that, but I won’t. He was born in the UK in 1977 and has been in a bunch of movies and TV shows. Outside of Inception and RockNRolla, there are only two worth seeing, and I am intentionally leaving out Warrior. Warrior was a good film, but a cliché one that has been talked to death, so I feel no need to address it here. If anything, see Warrior after the other two just to really understand how wide of a scale Hardy can project as an actor. Hardy was the best thing about Warrior, though No doubt about that. Another decent Hardy flick is a film with Daniel Craig called Layer Cake. But I am not going to give any attention to that movie outside of a name drop. What I really want to focus my attention on is one particular film he has made in 2008. A movie I think is one of the most under appreciated gems that has come out in the last ten years. A film Hardy pretty much stars in by himself. A sort of play a the one man show. An unforgettable film called Bronson.
In Bronson, Hardy plays a man who gets a sentence of seven years for robbing a post office. As a result of bad behavior, he spends thirty years locked up in solitary. While trapped there, all alone and somewhat insane, his inner alter ego develops, and it just happens to be Charles Bronson. Yes, I know what you are thinking. Why have you not seen the movie already, at least ten times? As I was watching it, I thought the same thing. I also was shocked the world hadn’t seen it. If they had, I would not be the only person who knows what Tom Hardy has in store for us as Bane. Sh*t’s about to get MAD REAL.
As the off-the-wall initial character in Bronson, Tom Hardy is scary and sporadic. He is also infinitely believable in the role. In five weeks of training, Hardy got that physique. He gained 48 pounds of muscle to portray the Bronson character. A man birthed inside another man’s mind while locked away, alone, in the pitch black. Bronson is as charismatic, scary and compelling a character I have seen on film since Daniel Day Lewis portrayed, well, anyone. There are two scenes that stand out in this film to me, and while I will not spoil them, I will say one involves a catatonic Hardy being accosted by an incredibly creepy character. In the scene, you can FEEL Hardy trying to break out of this frozen state. You can feel him, desperately struggling to do something, say something, and it is an absolutely stellar acting moment. The other scene in jail I won’t mention in lieu of you seeing it yourself and being blown away. I walked away from the film Bronson thinking (*Potential Batman Spoiler*) this man is definitely going to kill Batman. And I really am convinced Nolan saw this role and KNEW he had to have Hardy as Bane. Hardy comes out of nowhere and runs an amazing, one man show with that that film, and the world needs to see it and ready themselves for more from this guy. Because as of right now, he will be OWNING 2012. For his sake, I hope The Mayans were wrong.
Tom Hardy has been cast to play the lead in the new Mad Max reboot, which is set to start filming in April of this year. To me, the casting is brilliant. Has has the good looks of a young Mel Gibson, and can work the tough vulnerable vibe I spoke of earlier. When talking about The Mad Max reboot, Tom has already had some pretty amazing things to say. When asked what his character would look like, Tom responded: “Imagine a hungry wolf. Or when you put a cat in a bath. You grab a cat by the throat and stuff it under the water. You know what it looks like? That is what I am gonna look like. But like a PUMA.” I have to admit, that may be the best celebrity quote I have ever heard. It has all the qualities that make an amazing quote. Incredible re-quotability. Bat-shit-insanity. Dead pan honesty. No social filter ( is that REALLY how you bathe a cat?). It all just becomes more and more brilliant the more you look into it. Even as I started this piece, I REALLY liked Tom Hardy, but now I think I might actually love him. Not in any weird way, but at least if it was weird I know he probably already tried it. Wow, sorry. I got distracted. Anyway, that tough guy, vulnerable guy thing is a duality most would not be able to do, but it may end up beings Hardy’s calling card. That is a niche not really addressed, the vulnerable tough guy, but in the right hands, I can see it working. Let us hope he does not get typecast over time.
2012 will be a magic year for Tom Hardy, so be prepared for him to blow you all away and become a household name. Christopher Nolan hinted at this, and I listened by watching Bronson. Now, I cannot wait to see what kind of dark and twisted turns he takes as Bane. Moreover, though, I am just excited to see what else he has in store for us as an actor. Actors this intense tend to pick really dark parts that test them. I guess, over time, just how dark a place Bane is willing to go. For now though, we can hold our breath and wait for him to break the knight.
Good article. BUT Tom Hardy is NOT in Prometheus. There’s an actor, by the name of Logan Marshall Green, that is in it and the two bare a striking resemblance to each other. But Tom Hardy is not in it, as badass as that would have been I wish he was but alas he is not.
One more thing, did you just call Jason Statham mousey and insecure?!?! Bad move man, bad move.
i cant believe i came across this article…just last week i checked out bronson on netflix and i loved it and the only reason i check it out was because i loved hardy in rocknrolla and inception. I felt like i knew exactly what was going to be in this article before i even read it. This guy is already twice the actor that clive owen should’ve been
Excellent editorial, a really interesting read. I too watched Bronson a little while back and thought it was amazing, to see such a take on a sheer bat-shit crazy character with yet so much logic, who’s a badass to boot, was captivating.
I reckon he’ll go far.
Hey Paul, check his movie “Bronson” if you’re into his early movies. Can’t believe didn’t make it to your list, he plays a famous british criminal who spent most of his life in a freaking solitaire. The guy wrote books like “How to Workout in Confined Spaces”, and is batshit insane. Really, go check it out.
@Fmalk
Do you know there is a second page?
@Fmalk, um, the whole article was written around seeing Bronson. Did you go to the 2nd page? Hahahah, @ Sam, TMZ ran a video of Statham going to his car with his girlfriend once after a dinner at the ivy, and all I can say is, in all my life, I have NEVER seen a man act more like a b*tch, pardon my French. She yelps at him like he is a five year old, barks orders, and he is all “yes dear” all quiet-like and broken. I saw that and could never look at his tough guy shtick the same. Plus, Statham plays Statham in EVERY movie. THAT is not talent. That is choreography and writing, nothing more.@isles19 and Mr. Jim, yeah, his performance in that film really is staggering.
@Sam again. Great call with the Logan Marshall Green. I had no idea who he was and went and looked him up, and not only are you correct, but I am pretty sure they are the same guy and he just uses different names for different roles. Nah, kidding, but the likeness is freaky.
@Fmalk
Also do you know that this was written by Remy Carreiro?
Uh … seriously? Hasn’t Hardy been the “it” boy since STAR TREK: NEMESIS? Looks like another Jude Law to me.
I’ve always admired Mr. Hardy, especially his work as of late. He was BRILLIANT in “Bronson” and “Warrior” and I enjoyed his character in “Inception”. I’m slightly ashamed to admit that I am looking forward to “This Means War” (simply because I can get away with taking my girlfriend to this rather than “The Vow” and I am very much looking forward to him breaking the bat this summer! Well done Mr. Remy
PS: When you said this:
Christopher Nolan is a casting genius. Some people may argue that, some may agree. But I am not leaving it open for debate. I am TELLING you. When he cast Heath Ledger as The Joker, you could hear the collective sighs of fanboys all the world over, groaning in disapproval. I can say that because I was one of them.
I was doing the SAME EXACT THING
Can’t believe didn’t make it to your list, he plays a famous british criminal who spent most of his life in a freaking solitaire.
Anyone else catch this?
Despite the fact that you are my friend and I’ll generally read anything you post, this is an amazing piece of work. You couldn’t have hit the nail anymore on the head. Well done Remy…. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this while I should be working!
@ RemyCarreiro
It really is freaky how much they look alike, other than Tom hardy being larger they’re near identical. In fact, I have a theory that on his advanced age Ridley Scott casted Logan Marshall green because he intended to cast Tom Hardy and Logan marshal green just went with it. A la skeet ulrich “capitalizing” on his resemblance to johnny depp in the mid 90s.
@ RemyCarreiro
It really is freaky how much they look alike, other than Tom hardy being larger they’re near identical. In fact, I have a theory that on his advanced age Ridley Scott casted Logan Marshall green because he intended to cast Tom Hardy and Logan marshal green just went with it. A la skeet ulrich “capitalizing” on his resemblance to johnny depp in the mid 90s.
Also, have you seen his girlfriend? Pardon my crassness, but If I was allowed to go inside her on a nightly basis I’d be all “yes dear” too.
I will actually be so bold and say that we will eventually have a method actor here who is on par with Daniel Day Lewis. You guys NEED to see him as Bronson before you see him as Bane, just so you know what he is truly capable of. @ Andy, Nice observation. That kid sucked anyway. Hahaha. @ E.Lee, yeah, he is doing a wonderful job of sticking his claim to all the nerd franchises, which is a brilliant business move. @ Dave, all I have to say to you Dave is YOU’RE MY BOY,BLUE! @ Sam, well put, though in this sense, who looks like who?(I.e, who came first, Logan or Tom?), and regarding his girlfriend, I opened some Google image photos of her and my computer crashed. THAT is how attractive that woman is. She looks like a painting come to life.
After the first half a paragraph of the 2nd page I was thinking “Gee, I’m surprised he hasn’t mentioned ‘Bronson’ yet”.
I personally can’t wait to see Hardy as Bane, and I think the whole muffled voice thing works for the character, but I guess we’ll see.
I nearly fell over when i read prometheus. then i ran to imdb to make sure i wasn’t going insane.
this is a huge error for this article. huge. wow.
once again, I will put down the minority opinion. Not saying Heath wasn’t good as the Joker, but I feel that it’s comparatively easier to pull off batshit crazy than to portray a completely unique character. That is a character who has nothing in common with the actor and is not based on real or fictional characters. In another words, it’s much more difficult to create a new personality than to copy or fit into another character’s mode.
In any case, the best movie in my book from Nolan is still The Prestige. His other movies are good, but waaaay over hyped. Using a line from South Park “appearing to be deep doesn’t actually make the story actually more complex”.
I LOVED The Prestige, and it sort of started my Nolan obsession. An obsession that will be unlikely to end anytime soon.
If you can, check him out in a British miniseries called ‘The Take’ It’s an adaptation of a crime novel. You can not take your eyes off him. He should be a big star.
Am I the only one, but I didnt’t catch Mr. Remy mentioning that Tom Hardy is going to be in Prometheus??? Any way, I’m a big fan of Tom Hardy ever since ST: Nemesis and looking forward to anything he does. Great article sir!!
@RemyCarreiro ooooohh this is awkward! For the record, my apologies and great piece. The whole time I was thinking “how could one write an article about Tom Hardy and not mention Bronson”?
Also sorry for mentioning Paul instead of you, I looked for the author under the title (“published by”)
Excellent article!
Nolan did not cast Hardy as Bane because of his performance in Bronson instead he cast him after seeing his performance in RocknRolla.
Nolan had not watched Bronson at all.
Even Tom Hardy was surprised.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1345836/trivia?tab=tr&item=tr1518306
@Fmalk, no worries mate. I actually try to adhere to my secret, one page rule for that exact reason, so I cannot blame you. @strngr, I should have suspected as much. RockNRolla is what made me see Bronson Hahahaha
Maybe it’s because I’m in the U.K, but I was under the impression Tom Hardy was a pretty well known actor. Nonetheless he’s definitely one the best talents in Hollywood right now, and I can’t wait to see him as Bane. Another good role of his is Rickie Tarr in Tinker Tailor.
I absolutely loved him in Warrior!!!!!
Came to this website after viewing the Prometheus trailer to confirm whether or not Hardy is in this picture – I have to check out pictures of Logan Marshall Green – the likeness is uncanny.
Quick question – Didn’t Hardy win the British equivalent of the Oscar for his portrayal of Bronson? I’ve read on a number of websites that if Bronson was released in the US theaters, there would be no doubt that Hardy would have won the Oscar hands down.
Hardy is definitely a great professionally trained actor (not to mention extremely attractive) – hopefully he will have a long career & not botch it up like Gerard Butler.