Being born in a town called Hammersmith should make you man enough, but Tom Hardy decided to not stop there. Let’s take a look Hardy’s path from son of an artist to a member of Christopher Nolan’s actor army to being this week’s “You’re the Man.” Oh yeah, and this Friday you can catch Hardy in the Mancave Daily approved Warrior. Haven’t seen the trailer yet? Check it out above.
After studying at Richmond Drama School, Hardy began his acting career in man-nificent fashion as US Army Private John Janovec in the brilliant HBO / BBC show Band of Brothers. In 2001 Hardy hit the silver screen in Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down, where he thankfully stole any screen space from Josh Hartnett’s mumbling.
Getty Images
Hardy then spent a few years doing stage productions in England, getting nominated for multiple newcomer awards, such as the London Evening Standard Theater Award for Outstanding Newcomer (his performances in both Blood and In Arabia, We’d All Be Kings). Hardy then appeared in a few BBC miniseries’ where he was probably just as fantastic as he is in everything else, but you’d have to ask someone who watches BBC miniseries’ to find out.
In 2010 Hardy went mainstream(er), starring as Eames in Christopher Nolan’s (director whose worst film to date is the phenomenally enchanting The Prestige) Inception. Hardy won a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Rising Star award, which bodes the question of just how long someone can be considered a rising star? Inception was a masterpiece, and Nolan came calling to ask Hardy to play a role in his next film.
In what is certainly be the most anticipated thing to happen, good or bad, since y2k, The Dark Knight Rises comes out in 2012 and Hardy will play the Barry Bonds-necked super-villain Bane. He has the largest villain shoes (clown shoes?) to fill in the absence of Heath Ledger’s haunting joker, but Hardy has done nothing to prove that we should doubt him.
Kyle Ayers is an astronaut and craft-fair attendee who hopes someday he won’t have to lie in his byline. Follow him @kyleayers on twitter
Check Out More YTMs…
