Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy is arguably one of the best depictions of Batman. However, the films aren’t without their flaws, with Bane’s voice from the third and final installment failing to impress most fans. However, actor Tom Hardy, who played the role, revealed he anticipated the backlash.
During an interview, Hardy opened up about crafting Bane’s voice and suggested Nolan with an alternative. Furthermore, Hardy also suggested the caveat of moving forward with his version of Bane’s voice, as it could have easily gone wrong. Here is what Hardy said about Bane’s voice in The Dark Knight Rises.
Tom Hardy Warned Christopher Nolan About Bane’s Voice in The Dark Knight Rises
Tom Hardy played the role of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, with his voice for the character receiving mixed reactions from fans. During a segment of a video Hardy shot for Wired, the actor revealed how he came up with the voice for the comic book character.
Hardy explained that he felt some fans might reject a White actor playing a character of Latino origin. Hence, he did some research and decided to base his Bane voice on Welsh-Irish boxer Bartley Gorman.
He then approached director Christopher Nolan with the suggestion of using a voice modeled after Gorman but also suggested a Darth Vader-inspired voice. However, Hardy warned Nolan that the Gorman-inspired voice could result in the viewers mocking the film. He said:
But we could get laughed out of the park with it, it might be something that we regret, but it’s your choice ultimately.
However, Hardy admitted that Nolan liked his version of the Gorman-inspired voice and decided to use it for Bane in the movie. The Venom actor also noted that he and Nolan made some changes to the voice to make it more fluid and joked that the audience loved the end result.
Tom Hardy Details His Transformation into Bane for The Dark Knight Rises
Aside from completely masking his voice for the role of Bane, Hardy also underwent a drastic physical transformation for the role. During an interview with BBC Radio One, Hardy opened up about the challenges of playing a character like Bane who has a large stature.
If you really study the photographs [of Bane], I was really overweight, actually. I ate a lot and I wasn’t much heavier than I am now, but I just ate more pizza.
Hardy made the above statement, implying that he was required to put on a lot of weight, without adding any muscles. Therefore, the transformation certainly would have been challenging for the actor.
At the same time, Hardy also explained that Bane’s large stature was achieved using the right lighting and low shots. Hardy jokingly admitted that he merely shaved his head bald and put on a lot of weight, resulting in a porky final look as Bane. However, with some movie-making magic, his Bane appeared large and menacing.
The Dark Knight Rises is streaming on Max.
