(1977-)
Who Is Tom Hardy?
Actor Tom Hardy first stepped into the spotlight after his role in the miniseries Band Of Brothers (2001). Other major roles followed, including in the films Black Hawk Down (2001), Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Lawless (2012) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2014). Hardy received his first Oscar nomination for his role as John Fitzgerald in the drama The Revenant (2015), and went on to star in the Spider-Man spinoff Venom (2018).
Early Life
Edward Thomas Hardy was born on September 15, 1977, in Hammersmith, London, England. The only child of comedy and novel writer Edward Hardy and artist mother Anne, Hardy suffered from alcoholism, drug addiction and delinquency during his teen and early adult years.
Despite his demons, Hardy went on to pursue acting at the Richmond Drama School and the prestigious Drama Centre London. His intense commitment fine-tuned Hardy's acting skills. In a December 2002 interview with IGN, the actor stated, "When other schools would be doing, sort of, 30 hours, we were doing 60. And we'd be doing stuff that would prepare you in a very different way."
TV, Film and Theater Success
'Band of Brothers,' 'Black Hawk Down,' 'Star Trek: Nemesis'
Hardy came into the limelight in 2001 with his first role in the acclaimed war drama miniseries Band Of Brothers. That same year, he acted in the hit war film Black Hawk Down, playing a soldier left behind. Breaking out of military dramas, Hardy won the role as the lead villain in the film Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), starring opposite Patrick Stewart.
'Stuart: A Life Backwards'
Over the next several years, Hardy starred in several film and television projects. In 2006, he collaborated with Shotgun director Robert Delamare to launch an underground theater company. He directed Blue On Blue, a play written by his father, and his role in Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007) garnered him a best actor nomination from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
'Bronson,' 'Wuthering Heights,' 'Inception'
In 2008, Hardy was cast in a unique role as a gay hoodlum in the film RocknRolla, directed by Guy Ritchie, and won a British Independent Film Award (best actor) for his turn as Britain's most violent prisoner in Bronson. He tackled playing Heathcliffe in Wuthering Heights the following year, and gained more fame for his portrayal of Eames in Inception (2010), a surrealist blockbuster helmed by Christopher Nolan.
'Lawless,' 'The Dark Knight Rises,' 'Mad Max: Fury Road'
In the summer of 2012, Hardy starred as a bootlegging brother in the Depression-era drama Lawless and as Batman's nemesis Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. He appeared as Alfie Solomons in the British gangster series Peaky Blinders, which premiered in 2014, before landing the headlining role of the much-lauded Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015. That same year he starred in Legend, playing both roles of infamous British mobster twin brothers Ronnie and Reggie Kray.
'The Revenant'
Also in 2015, Hardy co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant, a harrowing 19th-century drama focusing on two men who become bitter enemies in the wilderness. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, the project earned 12 Academy Award nominations, with Hardy receiving his first Oscar nomination in the category of supporting actor.
'Taboo,' 'Venom'
Hardy returned to the small screen in 2017 in the British series Taboo, which he co-created with his father and Steven Knight. The following year, he starred as the titular anti-hero of the Spider-Man spinoff Venom, a film that drew a middling response from critics but performed well enough at the box office to send a sequel into production.
Personal Life
Hardy has a child, son Louis Thomas Hardy (born on April 8, 2008), with ex-girlfriend Rachel Speed. In 1999, he married Sarah Ward; the couple parted ways in 2004. Hardy blames his drug habit for the split, after which he spent time in rehab to recover.
Hardy married English actress Charlotte Riley in 2014. The couple welcomed their first child together in 2015 and another baby in late 2018.
In 2018, the actor was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services to drama.
QUICK FACTS
- Name: Tom Hardy
- Birth Year: 1977
- Birth date: September 15, 1977
- Birth City: Hammersmith, London, England
- Birth Country: United Kingdom
- Gender: Male
- Best Known For: Tom Hardy is a British actor best known for his roles in films like 'Inception,' 'Mad Max: Fury Road' and 'The Revenant.'
- Industries
- Film
- Television
- Astrological Sign: Virgo
- Schools
- Richmond Drama School
- The Drama Centre London
Fact Check
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CITATION INFORMATION
- Article Title: Tom Hardy Biography
- Author: Biography.com Editors
- Website Name: The Biography.com website
- Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/tom-hardy
- Access Date:
- Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
- Last Updated: April 16, 2020
- Original Published Date: April 3, 2014
QUOTES
- No matter how much you can prepare for [auditions], there's nothing worse than the anticipation. It's always the killer of everything. The actuality of doing something is normally a lot easier than the waiting for it.
