Tom Hardy
Edward Thomas Hardy CBE (born 15 September 1977) is an English actor, producer, and screenwriter. After studying acting at the Drama Centre London, he made his film debut in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down (2001). He had supporting roles in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) and RocknRolla (2008), and went on to star in Bronson (2008), Warrior (2011), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Lawless (2012), This Means War (2012), and Locke (2013). In 2015, he starred as "Mad" Max Rockatansky in Mad Max: Fury Road and both Kray twins in Legend, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Revenant. He has appeared in three Christopher Nolan films: Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012) as Bane, and Dunkirk (2017). He has since starred as Eddie Brock/Venom in the film Venom and its 2021 sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage. He also portrayed Al Capone in the film Capone (2020).
For other uses, see Tom Hardy (disambiguation).
Tom Hardy
Hardy's television roles include the HBO war drama mini-series Band of Brothers (2001), the BBC historical drama mini-series The Virgin Queen (2005), Bill Sikes in the BBC's mini-series Oliver Twist (2007), Heathcliff in ITV's Wuthering Heights (2009), the Sky 1 drama series The Take (2009), and as Alfie Solomons in the BBC crime drama series Peaky Blinders (2014–2022). He created, co-produced, and took the lead in the eight-part historical fiction series Taboo (2017) on BBC One and FX.[1]
Hardy has performed on both British and American stages. He was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his role as Skank in the production of In Arabia We'd All Be Kings (2003), and was awarded the 2003 Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer for his performances in both In Arabia We'd All Be Kings and Blood, in which he played Luca. He starred in the production of The Man of Mode (2007) and received positive reviews for his role in the play The Long Red Road (2010). Hardy is active in charity work and is an ambassador for the Prince's Trust.[2][3] He was appointed a CBE in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to drama.[4][5]
Early life[edit]
Edward Thomas Hardy was born in the Hammersmith district of London[6] on 15 September 1977,[7][8] the only child of artist and painter Anne (née Barrett) and novelist and comedy writer Edward "Chips" Hardy.[9][10][11] He is of Irish descent on his mother's side.[12] He was raised in London's East Sheen suburb.[13] Hardy attended Tower House School, Reed's School, and Duff Miller Sixth Form College. He later studied at Richmond Drama School and the Drama Centre London, now a part of Central Saint Martins.[14][15] He has named Gary Oldman, with whom he would later work on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, as his "hero" and added that he mirrored scenes from Oldman while at drama school.[16][17]
Philanthropy[edit]
In 2010, Hardy became an ambassador for the Prince's Trust, a UK youth charity which provides training, personal development, business start-up support, mentoring, and advice.[67] In 2012, he and his then-girlfriend (now-wife) Charlotte Riley became patrons of Bowel Cancer UK.[68] Prior to the inaugural Invictus Games held in London in September 2014, he, along with other entertainers and athletes, read the poem "Invictus" in a promotional video.[69]
Personal life[edit]
Hardy married producer Sarah Ward in 1999, and they divorced in 2004.[70] He met and began dating assistant director Rachael Speed on the set of The Virgin Queen in 2005, and they later had a son[71] before separating in 2009.[72] That year, he began a relationship with actress Charlotte Riley after they met on the set of Wuthering Heights, and they were married in July 2014.[73] Together, they have two sons. They had one rescue dog, Woodstock, and Hardy appeared with Woodstock in a PETA advert to promote pet adoption.[74] Woodstock died on 5 June 2017 due to an aggressive case of polymyositis.[75]
Hardy spent much time in his youth drinking alcohol and using crack cocaine to cope with stresses and has suffered significant bouts of dysthymia. He has previously said that he was "out of control" with his alcohol and drug use before deciding to seek psychological help when he was 20 years old.[76][77][78]
While portraying prisoner Charles Bronson during the production of Bronson, Hardy met Bronson several times and the two became friends. Bronson was impressed with how Hardy managed to match his muscularity and how well he could mimic Bronson's personality and voice; stating that he believed Hardy was the only person who could play him, he also shaved off his trademark moustache and sent it to Hardy in the hopes that Hardy would wear it in the film.[79]
Hardy appeared on a 2016 Debrett's list of the most influential people in the United Kingdom.[80] He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to drama.[81]
An avid practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Hardy has been seen training at Roger Gracie's affiliate schools and with John Danaher.[82] He has won a number of jiu-jitsu competitions,[83][84][85] with one such occurrence being at the UMAC Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open Championships in September 2022.[86] He is the lead ambassador for the REORG Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Foundation,[87] a Royal Marines-backed charity allowing current and former military personnel to learn the martial art as part of their recovery and to combat physical and mental challenges.[88] Hardy was promoted to purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu on 19 June 2023.[89]
Hardy is also a rapper, performing as Face Puller or Frankie Pulitzer, most notably featuring on the 2022 Czarface album Czarmageddon.