The year 2015 is going to be big for Tom Hardy. He’s always on the cusp of either picking up awards or drawing in crowds, and we’re finally getting the chance to see him try his hand at both, with films including Kray twins biopic Legend and blockbuster reboot Mad Max: Fury Road.
But this week sees a career dip in the remarkably dull Child 44, a thriller about a child killer in Stalin’s Soviet Union. It’s not his finest moment, but to remember better times, here are his highlights:
RocknRolla
By 2008, Hardy had already cropped up in Star Trek: Nemesis, Layer Cake and Black Hawk Down, but it wasn’t until Guy Ritchie’s patchy yet commercially successful crime caper that people really started to take notice. His performance as closeted gay gangster Handsome Bob never relied on stereotypes, and he managed to make this scene, where he confesses his feelings for his straight friend, overplayed by Gerard Butler, convincing.
Bronson
In the same year, Hardy took on his first lead role in Nicolas Winding Refn’s daring and darkly funny fictionalised biopic of notorious criminal Charles Bronson. Hardy’s method turn was a callout to casting agents who were made well and truly aware of his abilities. His terrifying lurch from softness to rage is perfect.
Warrior
Hardy’s ability to physically transform himself continued to bring him strong roles as he turned into a mixed martial arts fighter for this old-fashioned family drama in 2011. While it was Nick Nolte who played Hardy’s father and picked up an Oscar nomination, Hardy’s performance was arguably the film’s high point, as he turned an often hackneyed script into something powerful.
The Dark Knight Rises
Hardy’s biggest role to date came in 2012 as lead villain Bane in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy-ending superhero epic. While many struggled to understand a word he was saying, his presence as the hulking adversary was formidable. His introduction, in this 007-esque first scene, stands out as one of the best sequences in the series.
Locke
While Hardy has had some difficult roles in the past, nothing seemed quite as much of a challenge as spending an entire film in a car talking on the phone. Credit to Hardy, then, that Locke worked both as a tense drama and a masterclass in acting, with his performance emerging as arguably his best yet.
