32. He Became An Athletic Powerhouse
Hardy's involvement in the film Warrior saw him putting on yet more muscle for his role as a mixed martial artist. His workout was not for the faint of heart. For eight weeks straight, Hardy had two hours of boxing, two hours of Muay Thai, two hours of Jiu-Jitsu, two hours of choreography, and two hours of weightlifting. Every. Single. Day.
He became an intimidating and downright gritty presence in the film—making the tears he shed on set even more heartbreaking.
33. He Was Sentimental
Warrior proved that Hardy wasn’t just all physical presence on the screen—he had some serious acting chops to go along with it. When he had to cry on set, Hardy had to dig deep to bring on the waterworks, saying, “I find crying difficult…and I won’t know what will send me [to tears]. If my son tells me he loves me, that will make me cry…Bambi would probably do me. Or Shrek”.
Surprisingly sentimental, the raw emotion he displayed on screen made him decide that maybe he should try acting in other genres…to disastrous results.
34. This Movie Ruined Rom-Coms For Him
Hardy became one of the leading men in This Means War, across from Chris Pine and Reese Witherspoon. Wanting to do something he had never done before, Hardy jumped headfirst into the rom-com with high hopes.
In a miserable turn of events, Hardy felt so out of his depth that he declared he “probably won’t do a romantic comedy again”. The absolutely roasting the movie got from critics didn't help either.
Being the hero of a rom-com just wasn't his thing—what he really wanted to do was to be the villain.
This Means War (2012), 20th Century Fox
35. He Got The Role Of A Lifetime
Anyone growing up with superheroes has their favorite, and for Hardy, it was Batman.
So when Nolan invited him to play the villain Bane in his next Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, Hardy was ecstatic! He bulked up for this role too, just like he did in Bronson and Warrior, but today, at 43 years old, Hardy admits the extreme workouts took their toll on his body.
As he puts it, “I probably damaged my body too much”. To make things even more frustrating, he still wasn’t big enough for the role.
36. He Was Too Short
Standing at 5 feet 9 inches, Hardy isn't short by any stretch of the imagination, but his co-stars in The Dark Knight Rises absolutely dwarfed him. In order to make Bane seem more physically intimidating, Hardy donned three-inch lifts and filmed all his action scenes while balancing in those monster heels.
Luckily, Hardy had a lot of respect for Nolan’s creative decisions, so he put the shoes on without much complaint.
37. He Started A Strange Habit
Hardy was on the highway while filming the movie Lawless when something small darted in front of his car. Slamming on the brakes, he realized a small dog was running around in traffic! Thinking quickly, he leaped out of the car and chased the dog down.
When he grabbed the young pup, their eyes met—and it was love at first sight.
Naming the pup “Woody,” Hardy took the dog home, starting a lifelong habit of rescuing dogs whenever he traveled for a shoot.
38. He Acted For Eight Nights Straight
Hardy’s on-set discipline came in handy when it came to shooting the film Locke. In the film, Hardy is the only actor to appear on screen, so the pressure was on for him to get everything right.
Amazingly, filming took place over just eight straight nights of shooting. The crew only got a break when it was time to change out the camera’s memory cards! As sleep-deprived as Hardy was, he turned in a stand-out performance.
Locke (2013), IM Global
39. He Played Two Characters… At The Same Time
The film Legend saw Hardy making a bit of a narcissistic move—he took on both of the lead roles, effectively co-starring with himself! The film was about real-life twin gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray, and the roles were originally going to two different actors.
Hardy convinced the director to give him both parts by offering to play one of the roles for free.
In order to give both parts their own distinct personalities, Hardy started meeting up with a very dangerous man.
40. He Met A Hitman
In a chilling turn of events, the real-life Ronnie and Reggie Kray employed a hitman, who Hardy met on multiple occasions to make sure he got the characters right.
The hitman, Freddie Foreman, really wanted to make sure that Hardy portrayed his former employers correctly. He must have been a great teacher, because Hardy nailed down the Kray brothers’ mannerisms perfectly.
Hardy ended up terrifying Foreman when he spoke to him in-character.
Legend (2015), Legend (2015 film)
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41. He Took A Role Because Of His Son
Hardy was never a huge fan of playing the hero, finding villains much more interesting. However, he made a bit of an exception for the movie Venom, where he played the titular anti-hero. He actually did so as a sweet gesture towards his son, who was a huge fan of Venom.
Hardy may have a history of playing less-than-reputable characters, but in real life, he's a family man, through and through.
42. He Received An Honor
For his contributions to drama, Hardy received a prestigious honor of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire from Prince Charles himself. Of course, this barely scratches the surface of what Hardy has used his fame for. With about a half a dozen more charitable causes under his belt, Hardy proved that, despite all the villainous roles he took on, he had a heart of gold.
43. He Was An Actual Superhero
In April 2017, Hardy was minding his own business in the streets of London when a moped thief zoomed past him, trying to make his getaway. When the thief crashed the moped and took off running, Hardy took off after him, vaulting over fences in hot pursuit. He eventually caught the thief and held him down until the proper authorities arrived.
44. He Was Overwhelmed
After years of speculation, Hardy landed the titular role in Mad Max: Fury Road, alongside actress Charlize Theron. The movie ended up being a critical triumph, but making it was a different story.
Everything about the production process rubbed him the wrong way, from how little control he had during the shoots, to how much they had to process all at once, to the blind trust he had to put into his crew members.
The director, George Miller, ended up on the receiving end of Hardy’s frustration more than once, but he wasn’t the only one who Hardy lashed out at.
45. He Should Have Been Kinder
As the two main leads, the pressure on Hardy and Theron to carry the movie was unbelievably high, leading to the two clashing on set.
When the shoot wrapped up and Hardy had time to clear his head, he realized he should have treated Theron more kindly, saying, “What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced, partner in me...I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion”.
Still, his behavior definitely turned some heads. While everyone agreed the nightmarish filming conditions made the whole crew act a little crazy, nearly every cast member noted Hardy's abusive actions, with Zoe Kravitz calling it a "bummer".
46. He Threatened Directors
After starring with him in Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio forced Hardy to read the script for The Revenant and take on the role of the conniving John Fitzgerald. Shooting started years later, and.
..didn’t go well. During filming, he ended up disagreeing with the director, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, so badly that Hardy later created a t-shirt featuring a graphic of Fitzgerald putting Iñárritu in a chokehold.
Despite the problems on set, critics received the movie warmly—but shockingly, this caused a problem for Hardy.
47. He Lost A Bet
While filming The Revenant, DiCaprio and Hardy made a truly ridiculous bet: If Hardy got an Oscar nomination for his role in The Revenant, Leo would get a tattoo of his choice inked onto Hardy. Hardy didn’t think a nomination would come his way—until the 2016 Oscar ceremonies proved him wrong. True to his word, Hardy followed through and got the words “Leo Knows All” tattooed onto his arm, taking the loss with a healthy dose of good humor.
48. He Fought With Actors
Hardy garnered a bit of a reputation for having high expectations on set, and it led to a violent altercation between himself and Shia LeBoeuf on the set of Lawless. In order to get into character, LaBeouf got absolutely loaded on moonshine, which probably didn’t sit well with Hardy, considering his rocky past with drinking.
Tensions rose between the two, leading to a violent turn of events—a drunken LaBeouf ended up punching Hardy and knocking him out. Then, when Hardy recovered, he made a shocking move.
49. He Forgave Him
In a move that really showed how much Hardy matured since his early days, Hardy held no hard feelings towards LaBoeuf. In an interview, he pointed out that “a performer is asked to do two things: To be disciplined and accountable, communicative and a pleasure to worth with. And then, within a split second, they’re asked to be a psychopath. Authentically”.
He understood the psychological strain on LaBoeuf, so it was all water under the bridge for these two…right?
50. Shia Told A Different Story
Years later, LaBoeuf revealed what really happened that day, with a story so strange it was hard to believe.
The two got a little too close to the stairs during their little “fight,” causing Hardy to take a hard tumble down the steps. After that, a mischievous Hardy told everyone that LaBoeuf knocked him out in a fight.
We may never know the true story.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43
