Credit: @tomhardy
While working as Bane, Tom Hardy did not feel good about himself. He struggled with his body and his weight, and it was a situation he wasn’t comfortable with. However, it’s not the first time a role was difficult for him. We don’t know a lot about the handsome actor who won us over with his role in The Revenant. He left that role with an Academy Award nomination, but what else has he been up to, and what’s his life been like? Tom Hardy prefers his privacy, so there’s never much about him to look into. We have a few things you did not know.
1. Both of His Parents are Artists
The arts call some, and the arts do not call others. Tom Hardy is the kind of guy who has arts calling everyone in his family. His mother is an artist, and his father is a comedy writer as well as a novelist. Both of his parents spent Hardy’s childhood working on their creative endeavors, and they encouraged their son to do the same.
2. He Has a Hero
While he was studying drama in London, he said that he had a hero. His hero is none other than Gary Oldman. He’d channel the actor’s methods while he was working on scenes, and he’s never really stopped doing so. He would ‘mirror’ the actor’s work when he was studying. He hoped to be just like him.
3. He Suffers from a Major Disorder
Have you heard of Dysthymia? It’s a mental and behavioral disorder, and it is wildly similar to depression. Essentially, someone with this disorder suffers from the same symptoms as people with depression, but their symptoms are much longer-lasting and difficult to deal with. Unfortunately, he did not handle this well as a young adult.
Credit: ET Canada/YouTube
4. Tom Hardy Was a Drug User and Alcoholic Growing Up
Growing up with a disorder that is more serious than depression is difficult. Hardy simply didn’t know how to handle it, so he turned to drugs and alcohol. He drank heavily and used crack cocaine to handle his disorder. He did this throughout his teenage years before finally seeking medical help at the age of 20. As far as we know, he’s much better now.
5. He is a Married Man
Tom Hardy is married to his wife, Charlotte Riley. Together, they have two kids who were born in 2015 and 2018. They were married in 2014 after meeting on a movie set back in 2009. He met her right after ending a long-term relationship with Rachael Speed, a director’s assistant, in 2005. They also share a son born in 2008. He was married once before to Sarah Ward for five years until 2004.
6. The Role of Bane Was Difficult
While playing Bane, Tom Hardy struggled. It was 2012 when he worked as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, and he had to gain 30 pounds for the role. His way of acting involves really turning into the character, and this one was a bulky man with extra weight. Hardy called it hard on his heart, and the newfound body he adopted for the role was not easy for him.
7. Tom Hardy Does Whatever it Takes for a Role
He’s known to follow the roles wherever they need to go to make them work, and that includes studying real-life characters who lived. It also includes finding a way to make sure his role as Bane was good for Tom Hardy emotionally and physically. He goes the whole distance, even when it makes him physically ill and causes him to develop worries about his heart health.
Credit: @tomhardy
8. Christian Bale Loved Working With Tom Hardy
In The Dark Knight Rises, Bale was Batman, while Bane was Tom Hardy’s character. They worked together a lot on that movie and had to learn to communicate with one another with their faces covered in those massive and heavy masks. They found it easy to do this and would love to work together again. Bale feels as if he and Hardy had a really good way of communicating and working together, and he’d happily work with him again in the future.
9. He was Star-Struck Once
Tom Hardy is arguably one of the most famous actors in the world, but even he is star-struck on occasion. Well, he was star-struck on one occasion only. He worked with Gary Oldman, his hero, one time. He was so insanely shocked and star-struck watching Oldman work, and it was a dream come true.
10. Tom Hardy is Intensely Private
He cannot keep his entire life out of the press because of the nature of his work, but he does his best. He tries to keep his family private, and he does well. Hardy and his wife and their kids live a relatively quiet life when he’s home and not working, and it’s good for all of them.
