Tom Hardy: Not as tough as he looks

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TOM HARDY THE REVENANT FILM

Together met up with Tom Hardy, an actor whose star is on the rise in the Hollywood firmament.

It’s been a big year for Tom Hardy and it keeps getting better by the month. In October, the British star became a father for the second time when his wife Charlotte Riley gave birth in London. In November, his film Legend, in which he plays both identical twin gangster brothers, The Krays, earned him rave reviews for his two-fisted performance. And in January, Hardy was back on the big screen when the historical Western thriller, The Revenant, was released. And he has been nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film

Directed by noted filmmaker Alejandro G. Iырrritu, who earlier this year won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director for Birdman, The Revenant co-stars Hardy alongside Leonardo DiCaprio as 19th century fur trappers battling each other and the elements in treacherous terrain in the Rocky Mountains. After DiCaprio’s Hugh Glass is abandoned and essentially left to die by Hardy’s John Fitzgerald, the former goes on a quest for revenge against his partner. Based on a true story, the film also saw DiCaprio earn an Oscar nomination as best Actor. At the time of going to press the award ceremony had not taken place…

Hardy and his fellow cast and crew members were pushed to the limit in wintry sub-zero conditions during the course of a gruelling nine-month shoot that took place in the wilderness regions of Alberta, Canada and Tierra del Fuego in Argentina.

“I was pushed harder than I have ever been pushed before,” Hardy recalls of the experience. “We shot in minus-20 Celsius temperatures, with snow and wind and ice and it was the kind of thing where you wonder if you’re going to make it out alive. I loved it, though, and I loved how Alejandro was committed to taking things to the limit.”

That kind of adventurous, risk-taking bravado is what defines Tom Hardy’s indomitable spirit. The 38-year-old actor is fast becoming one of Hollywood’s top stars following his work on this summer’s Mad Max: Fury Road that went on to earn nearly $400 million. Best known for his acclaimed work in a variety of acclaimed indie features including The Drop, Locke and Bronson, he also made headlines with his Batman-killing performance as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.

Tom Hardy lives in London with his wife Charlotte Riley and their new-born baby. The couple first became romantically involved while working on Wuthering Heights in 2009 and eventually married in July 2014. Hardy is also a doting father to a son, Louis, 7, from his previous relationship with Rachel Speed.

Together: Tom, this has been quite a year for you. How do you put it all into perspective?
Tom Hardy: I just look for great stories and the chance to work with interesting people. I don’t have a big plan and I don’t even want to think about what it all means. I think of myself as an ordinary guy who has a great job. As an actor, I view myself as someone who gets to participate in the vision of incredible filmmakers like Nolan, Winding Refn or Iñárritu. I’m fascinated by the process of how they achieve what they set out to do and I love being along for the ride and being able to contribute as much as I can to the process.