Unfortunately, I (and many other Americans, I’d venture) have just discovered Tom Hardy thanks to Inception, in which he played Eames, the Forger. It’s unfortunate because he’s apparently quite the up-and-comer. He’s played iconic characters like Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, and Bill Sikes in Oliver Twist. He’s done period dramas like the mini-series “The Virgin Queen,” and Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. On the other end of the spectrum, he’s done gritty modern films like Layer Cake, and Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla. One of his most lauded performances was as the infamous criminal Charles Bronson in Bronson. Right now, he’s on board for Mad Max: Fury Road, a reboot of/sequel to the old apocalyptic Mel Gibson series. Lucky for him, this comes at a time when he probably won’t be receiving unfavorable comparisons to Gibson’s original portrayal of Max Rockatansky, considering the current public opinion of Mr. Gibson. There are also rumblings that he’s in contention to play the Riddler in the next installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman series.
Why He’s More Than Just Eye Candy: He’s been fairly outspoken about his battle overcoming a drug addiction and pretty grim party lifestyle. Of course it’s wonderful that he could overcome something like that and I think it’s even better that, as someone who aspires to some amount of fame, he’s fairly open about the whole ordeal. As an actor, he’s acquired various accolades. He studied at the London Drama Center. He was nominated for a 2004 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Most Promising Newcomer of 2003 in a Society of London Theatre Affliate for his performance in Arabia, We’d All Be Kings, performed at the Hampstead Theatre. Also, he was awarded the 2003 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer for his performances in Blood and Arabia, We’d All Be Kings. He was one of Variety’s “Top Ten Actors to Watch” in 2009. For his role in Bronson, he underwent a fairly drastic change in appearance, shaving his head and bulking up considerably. With a co-writer, he has written two television shows and sold them to production companies.
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August 4, 2010 at 12:38 PM
Copper
Bronson’s not actually a serial killer. In fact, he’s only committed one real crime in the outside world, and that’s a robbery for which he got a seven year sentence. He’s just the most violent prisoner they’ve ever had, and they keep adding to his sentence because he keeps doing things like fighting guards and taking hostages whom he threatens to eat unless his demands are met.
August 4, 2010 at 9:28 PM
leeraloo
Ah, okay. I think I saw someone refer to him as a “violent criminal” and so I just assumed, I guess. I am going to go change that.
August 5, 2010 at 5:27 PM
Copper
Oh, he’s definitely a violent criminal, make no mistake about that. I mean, there’s a reason he’s behind bars and his sentence keeps getting extended. It’s just that the violence doesn’t come in the form of mass murders. He’s a more…theatrical kind of violent.