Tom Hardy is one of the most well-recognized British actors in Hollywood. Known for his exceptional talent and capabilities as an actor, he has been a part of massive projects like Legend, Inception, Mad Max: Fury Road, Peaky Blinders, and The Dark Knight Rises. Outside of these, the actor is perhaps most well-known for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Hardy plays the titular character in the Venom movie series and does an amazing job at that. What is quite interesting to know, however, is that four years before playing this iconic role, he almost played the role of a certain Sorcerer Supreme.
Tom Hardy Was Almost Cast In Marvel’s Doctor Strange
When any project is casting for the lead in a multiple-movie series, it is only natural that they weigh their options and pick the very best actor they can find. This was no different for the 2016 Marvel movie, Doctor Strange, which started its casting process for the fan-favorite Steven Strange in 2014. This process was quite tedious and difficult, as finding the right actor for the role was not easy.
Before casting Benedict Cumberbatch in the role, there were quite a few big-name actors who almost landed the role, including Joaquin Phoenix, Ryan Gosling, and Jared Leto. Another interesting name to pop up on the list of people who almost played the now very important character in the MCU was Tom Hardy, who was taken out of consideration when Cumberbatch came on board.
Tom Hardy Was Cast In Another Marvel Project As Venom
Though Tom Hardy was unable to secure the role of Steven Strange in the 2016 movie, Doctor Strange, he did go on to play another, more suited character. Hardy was cast as Venom and Eddie Brock in the 2018 Sony movie, Venom, which was in association with Marvel Studios.
This movie quickly became a fan-favorite and got turned into a franchise, with its second part, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, coming out four years after the first. In this franchise, he plays a journalist who gets infected with an alien parasite, or a symbiote, named Venom. This role is what the actor is potentially most well-known for, other than of course, Bane.
Source: Collider
