Tom Hardy became well known in Hollywood after his roles in films such as Bronson and The Dark Knight Rises. The actor rose to stardom steadily and is considered one of the best actors working at the moment. Hardy has been nominated for an Academy Award for the film The Revenant.
The British actor once criticized Hollywood’s tendency to type-cast actors into roles and how he was stereotyped into brutish roles after playing the bare-knuckle fighter and criminal Charles Bronson in the biopic Bronson.
Also read: Tom Hardy Was Banned after He Kept Repeatedly Visiting Britain’s Most Notorious Criminal in Prison
Tom Hardy’s Annoyance At Typecasting In Hollywood
Ever since his breakthrough role in the film Bronson, Tom Hardy has been increasingly cast in masculine and brutish roles. The actor has starred as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, a boxer in Warrior, a seemingly invincible gangster in Lawless, and as the action hero Max in Mad Max: Fury Road.
Hardy spoke about how Hollywood stereotyped actors and criticized how the industry boxed up actors into their fantasies. He said that the industry only took notice of him when he starred as a brute and then repeatedly cast him in such roles. In an interview with Yahoo! (via The Guardian), he said,
“The trouble with Hollywood is they want you to be something, then they think you’re who they wanted you to be..I’m not a fighter. I’m a petite little bourgeois boy from London. People didn’t sit up and take any notice of me until I started putting on weight, kicking people, and being aggressive!”
The actor has featured in costumed dramas and non-action roles such as in The Virgin Queen and Stuart: A Life Backwards. He is also known for his incredible performance in the single-location drama Locke.
Tom Hardy’s Life And Career
British actor Tom Hardy is the son of playwright Edward Hardy and came from an affluent, artistic family. Hardy studied in drama schools to pursue his passion for acting and has cited Gary Oldman, with whom he would share screen space in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Dark Knight Rises as his inspiration.
Hardy started his career as a model and then launched his career as an actor when he appeared in the Steven Spielberg-produced miniseries Band of Brothers. He also made his feature film debut with Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down. He also started acting on the stage and was regarded as a promising newcomer.
After playing a few supporting roles, Tom Hardy rose to international stardom due to his performance as the British criminal Charles Bronson in the biopic Bronson. Hardy gained much weight for the role in five weeks and was lauded for his performance. It led to his appearance in films such as Lawless, Inception, and The Dark Knight Rises.
The actor has since risen to significant stardom in the dramatic category as well, with films like Legend, Dunkirk, and The Revenant, the latter for which he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He starred in the film along with Leonardo DiCaprio.
Also read: Veteran Marvel Actor Believed Tom Hardy Will Not Last In Hollywood After Their First Movie Together
