English actor Tom Hardy went from studying at the Drama Centre London to receiving nominations for the British Academy Film Awards and working alongside his favourite actor, Gary Oldman, in the blink of an eye. The actor even enjoyed an impressive film debut, appearing in Ridley Scott’s 2001 war film Black Hawk Down alongside Ewen McGregor and Josh Harnett.
Hardy’s work is characterised mostly by villains and criminals, playing East End legends the Kray Twins in Brian Helegend’s Legend and DC’s Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. He’s also taken the tough guy persona to TV, playing gang leader Alfie Solomons in the hit series Peaky Blinders. Speaking to DigitalSpy in 2015, Hardy cites this casting choice down to how “violence still has a romance for me”.
The film star has noted numerous inspirations that have helped shape his career over the years. These idols come from various cinematic examples, such as how “Woody Allen’s tortured neurosis and all the humour that can come from that” inspired his performance as Eddie Brock in Venom. However, Hardy draws from other industries, too — one of which is the MMA fighter Conor McGregor, who served as a partial blueprint for playing Brock. The actor told Esquire it was the “the überviolence, but not all the talking” that influenced Hardy’s acting.
When reflecting on those that have shaped his skills the most, Hardy also revealed his ultimate favourite actor during a past interview with DigitalSpy, and it is one he had the privilege of working with. “With Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the first time I worked with Gary Oldman, I had to watch him because we had to re-shoot because my beard fell off while I was talking,” Hardy shares.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a 2011 thriller mystery directed by Tomas Alfredson and based on John le Carre’s novel of the same name. Oldman plays George Smiley, an intelligence officer working for ‘The Circus’. Meanwhile, Hardy’s role is field agent Ricky Tar, a character who supplies information that there is a mole in the Circus. Hardy shared how the consistent re-shoots gave him the chance to take in what was happening: “I spent my entire experience with Gary staring at him, and not returning any lines,” he said before revealing he himself was star-struck: “He’s basically God, you know?”.
Oldman is known in the industry for his versatility and intense acting style. He is one of the highest-grossing actors of all time, with various accolades to his name, including a Golden Globe Award. “Gary Oldman is one of my heroes, completely,” Hardy revealed, “I did nothing but gleam from him.”
Oldman received a nomination for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his role. The film also won the BAFTA for Best British Film and was the highest-grossing film at the British box office for three consecutive weeks.
