Tom Hardy at an event
Tom Hardy has been in the public eye for more than two decades, but he's still difficult to pin down. He's known to ooze in and out of roles, to transform his body and his mannerisms as the project requires. He’s the opposite of typecast: He can be repulsive but magnetic in one film and dashing but loathsome in the next.
In other words, Tom Hardy is exactly the kind of figure that Hollywood seems to love these days: Profoundly talented, deeply devoted to his craft, gorgeous in a shifting, abstract way, and possessing enough quirks and oddball humility to offset his otherworldly good looks and charm.
But how did he get to where he is today? Let’s take a look at the Best Tom Hardy Performances since he arrived on the scene in the late ‘90s.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Year: 2015
Medium: Film
Role: Max Rockatansky
Fury Road was a phenomenon in spring 2015. The plot follows Hardy's character, but Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa drives most of the action. In fact, Hardy's willingness to sit in the passenger's seat is part of what makes this film so incredible.
Bronson
Year: 2008
Medium: Film
Role: Charles Bronson
Bronson sent Hardy from “what do I know that guy from?” to “oh my God I love Tom Hardy” territory. In it, he plays Charles Bronson, the real-life psychopath known to the press as "Britain's most violent prisoner." Hardy added more than 40 pounds of muscle for the role, and even developed a friendship with the notorious title character.
Inception
Year: 2010
Medium: Film
Role: Eames
While Bronson solidified Hardy as an Oscar-quality leading man, Christopher Nolan’s Inception placed him firmly on the A-list. Starring alongside silverscreen legends Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard, and Michael Caine, Hardy delivered a memorable performance as Eames, an assistant to DiCaprio’s Dom Cobb. We’re still not sure what happened in this movie – give us a break, we only saw it once – but we know Hardy looked great in his big, billowy dress shirts and shabby oversized blazers.
Venom
Year: 2018
Medium: Film
Role: Eddie Brock/Venom
In 2018, Hardy took his talents to Marvel – as the law says every successful actor must – to star as Eddie Brock and his alter ego in Venom. Hardy turned in a neurotic performance as Brock and a robust, bombastic performance as Venom – the perfect combination for a film that looks and sounds like shotgunning a Monster energy drink feels.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Year: 2021
Medium: Film
Role: Eddie Brock/Venom
If you enjoyed the dubstep-fueled mayhem of 2018’s Venom, grab your Court Graffiks and lip piercings, because there’s plenty more where that came from! Originally scheduled for release in October 2020, Eddie Brock and his sinister alter ego will return next summer.
Capone
Year: 2020
Medium: Film
Role: Al Capone
Capone could be the perfect movie for the COVID-19 era. In it, Hardy’s aging mobster is sequestered in his Palm Island home, wracked by hallucinations from his syphilis-addled mind. This ‘audacious, incoherent, shitshow,’ as our own H. Drew Blackburn put it, sounds suspiciously like my quarantine.
The Revenant
Year: 2015
Medium: Film
Role: John Fitzgerald
The Revenantis overrated in many ways. The story is slow, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s lead performance plays like a 156-minute plea for recognition from the Academy. It’s actually Hardy’s performance as trapper John Fitzgerald that steals the show, along with the imposing wilderness of Alberta, Canada, where much of the movie was filmed.
Dunkirk
Year: 2017
Medium: Film
Role: Farrier
Most of the performances in Dunkirk are, by necessity, muted. This project aimed to replicate the horrors of war through the medium of film – the characters are tools less than individuals. Despite that, Hardy was customarily strong as pilot Farrier.
The Dark Knight Rises
Year: 2012
Medium: Film
Role: Bane
Hardy returned to his villainous roots as Bane, Batman’s monstrous and brilliant adversary in the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy.
Star Trek: Nemesis
Year: 2002
Medium: Film
Role: Praetor Shinzon
Nemesis was a major step in Hardy’s career. He played the film’s lead villain, Shinzon, who is also a clone of Star Trek legend Jean-Luc Picard. This wasn’t the best-reviewed film in the Star Trek empire, but Hardy’s performance wasn’t bad; he received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the part.
Black Hawk Down
Year: 2001
Medium: Film
Role: SPC Lance Twombly
Black Hawk Down, Hardy’s first film role, tells the story of a doomed US military expedition inside war-ravaged Mogadishu, Somalia. Early in his career, it was clear that Hardy was comfortable with two things: playing military roles and putting on American accents.
Band of Brothers
Year: 2001
Medium: TV
Role: Private John Janovec
Hardy abandoned his studies at Drama Centre London to play Private John Janovec in Band of Brothers, the ten-part World War II miniseries created by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. We don't normally endorse ditching school, but when legends come knocking, you answer the door.
Peaky Blinders
Year: 2013-present
Medium: TV
Role: Alfie Solomons
In Peaky Blinders, the BBC period drama about organized crime in World War I Birmingham, Hardy stars alongside Cillian Murphy and others as Alfie Solomons, a Jewish gang leader from London. Blinders is five seasons in and still going strong: in 2018, creator Steven Knight predicted a sixth and seventh season with the possibility of a movie on the horizon. A video game is also on the way.
Locke
Year: 2013
Medium: Film
Role: Ivan Locke
Locke is very much a Tom Hardy vehicle. He’s the only actor who appears on screen – Olivia Coleman, Ruth Wilson, and others provide voices – and pretty much the entire story takes place in his car. Predictably, the critics loved it.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Year: 2011
Medium: Film
Role: Ricki Tarr
In Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, Hardy had the opportunity to work alongside Gary Oldman, a man he has described as his hero. Both men play members of British intelligence service in this spy thriller that earned three Oscar nominations.
This Means War
Year: 2012
Medium: Film
Role: Tuck Hansen
By 2012, Hardy had established himself as devoted character actor with a penchant for violent and disturbed performances. In other words, it was time to star in a light-hearted romantic comedy! Hardy plays Tuck Hansen (all-time great rom-com name), a CIA agent trying to win the heart of Lauren Scott (Reese Witherspoon). Unfortunately, Hansen’s best buddy FDR (Chris Pine), who is also a CIA agent, is interested in the same woman. Hilarity – or something approximating humor – ensues.
RocknRolla
Year: 2008
Medium: Film
Role: Handsome Bob
Guy Ritchie crime capers aren't known for nuanced performances, but Hardy delivers one as Handsome Bob, a closeted member of the notorious London street gang The Wild Bunch. RocknRolla marked the end of the under-the-radar phase of Hardy's career - from here on out it's all headlining performances and blockbuster hits.
Find Me a Supermodel
Year: 1998
Medium: Reality TV
Role: Contestant
In 1998, Tom Hardy burst onto the scene as the winner of a short-lived modeling competition hosted by The Big Breakfast, a Channel 4 breakfast television program that ran for ten years in the ‘90s and early 2000s. Nobody knew that this nameless hunk would go on to international fame, but the bone structure and the hair should’ve been a clue.
Taboo
Year: 2017
Medium: TV
Role: Creator and star (as James Delaney)
Not only does Hardy star in Taboo as James Keziah Delaney, he also created the BBC TV series with his father, writer Chips Hardy. The series is set in 1814 and involves Delaney’s return to England with stolen African diamonds. It aired for one season.
'Falling on Your Arse in 1999'
Year: 1999, presumably
Medium: Music
Role: Rapper
Falling on Your Arse, Hardy and producer Eddie Too Tall's first and last mixtape, is embarrassing, but not nearly as embarrassing as it could be. It’s more harmless than anything, a naïve attempt at rapping that isn’t original enough to cause offense. It's also the ideal soundtrack for a deep dive into Hardy's erstwhile internet presence. Enjoy.
Warrior
Year: 2011
Medium: Film
Role: Tommy Riordan Conlon
In Warrior, Hardy once again morphed into a brooding mass of human weaponry, this time alongside Joel Edgerton. The two play Tommy and Brendan Conlon, brothers with troubled pasts and a shared passion for mixed martial arts.
The Drop
Year: 2014
Medium: Film
Role: Bob Saginowsky
The Drop is notable for being the last feature film that Sopranos legend James Gandolfini would appear in. Hardy plays a Brooklyn bartender with loose affiliations to the Chechen mob. The film received favorable reviews, but will mostly be remembered as Gandolfini’s swan song. RIP, Tony.
Legend
Year: 2015
Medium: Film
Role: Ronald and Reginald Kray
Back in Britain’s criminal underworld, Hardy stars as Ronnie and Reggie Kray, identical twin crime lords that ruled London in the 1950s and ‘60s. The film is flawed, but Hardy’s performance attracted rave reviews and earned him Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film at the British Independent Film Awards.
Layer Cake
Year: 2004
Medium: Film
Role: Clarkie
A film in the vein of Guy Ritchie’s Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Layer Cake explores London’s underworld through the eyes of Daniel Craig’s unnamed protagonist. Hardy plays Clarkie, a member of Craig’s serious and sensible crew.
Lawless
Year: 2012
Medium: Film
Role: Forrest Bondurant
Hardy stars alongside Shia LaBeouf (a.k.a. American Tom Hardy) and Jessica Chastain in this Prohibition Era crime drama. Lawless didn’t quite live up to its massive potential, but Hardy can’t be blamed: critics described his performance as “compelling.”
Wuthering Heights
Year: 2009
Medium: TV miniseries
Role: Heathcliff
Just like Oliver Twist, Wuthering Heights, the novel by Emily Bronte, has been retold countless times. This incarnation features a delicate, long-haired Tom Hardy breaking hearts alongside Charlotte Riley. The pair began a relationship on set and are now married.
The Take
Year: 2009
Medium: TV miniseries
Role: Freddie Jackson
Hardy returned to a familiar setting - the British underworld - for The Take, a four-part miniseries aired by Sky1. The show follows a familiar formula: Hardy’s Freddie Jackson is released from prison with big plans, but can he avoid the pitfalls of criminal life? Not a memorable show, but Hardy brings electric energy in the starring role.
'Sour Times,' by Riz MC
Year: 2011
Medium: Music video
Role: Himself
Before they starred together in Venom, Hardy appeared in actor and rapper Riz Ahmed’s music video for the song ‘Sour Times.’ It isn’t exactly a starring role – Hardy lip syncs a couple lines – but it’s cool to see the two Brits coming together on a side project.
In Arabia We’d All Be Kings
Year: 2003
Medium: Stage
Role: Skank
Hardy doesn’t confine himself to acting on camera – he’s also a man of the stage. In 2003, he starred in the London production of In Arabia We’d All Be Kings, a play by Stephen Adly Guirgis about life in Hell’s Kitchen prior to Giuliani’s arrival. Hardy was nominated for the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his performance.
Blood
Year: 2003
Medium: Stage
Role: Luca
Also in 2003, Hardy played the role of Luca in Blood. He was awarded the 2003 Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer for this performance, and for his performance in In Arabia We’d All Be Kings.
The Man of Mode
Year: 2007
Medium: Stage
Role: Dorimant
The 2007 production of The Man of Mode was a modern retelling of the 1676 comedy by George Etherege. The play follows hedonistic Dorimant as he tries to ditch one London lady for another. Hardy, naturally, took on the leading role.
Oliver Twist
Year: 2007
Medium: TV miniseries
Role: Bill Sikes
The story of Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens’ orphan pickpocket on the mean streets of 1800s London, has been told countless times. But rarely has Bill Sikes, the lumbering career criminal and domestic abuser, been so menacingly portrayed as by Hardy in this BBC miniseries.
Stuart: A Life Backwards
Year: 2007
Medium: TV movie
Role: Stuart Clive Shorter
Hardy received a 2008 British Academy of Film and Television Art (BAFTA) nomination for his portrayal of Stuart Clive Shorter, a career criminal and the subject of Alexander Masters' biography Stuart: A Life Backwards. Benedict Cumberbatch starred as Masters.
A for Andromeda
Year: 2006
Medium: TV movie
Role: John Fleming
A remake of the 1961 BBC series of the same name, A for Andromeda focuses on a group of scientists trying to build a supercomputer based on instructions transmitted from a distant galaxy. Only Hardy’s John Fleming suspects that something may be amiss…
Scenes of a Sexual Nature
Year: 2006
Medium: Film
Role: Noel
Scenes of a Sexual Nature is one of those movies that follows several storylines tied together by a common element. Or, in this case, two common elements: every story takes place in London, and every story is at some point interrupted by Hardy's aggravating character, Noel.
London Road
Year: 2015
Medium: Film
Role: Mark
Hardy joined forces with British screen legends Olivia Coleman and Anita Dobson in London Road, the reinterpretation of a musical by the same name. The original was based on interviews with Steve Wright, a.k.a. the Suffolk Strangler. Are musicals a customary format for stories about serial killers? No. Does it work in this case? You’ll have to watch to find out.
LD 50 Lethal Dose
Year: 2003
Medium: Film
Role: Matt
In LD 50 Lethal Dose, Hardy starred as Matt, an animal rights activist who infiltrates a research facility alongside three fellow zealots. This film has been largely forgotten, but its slick veneer and edgy subject matter presage the types of projects that Hardy would favor later in his career.
The Virgin Queen
Year: 2005
Medium: TV miniseries
Role: Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
BBC miniseries are their own kind of prestige TV. In The Virgin Queen, Hardy starred as Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, alongside Anne-Marie Duff as Queen Elizabeth I. The four-episode series followed the rise of the avowedly chaste queen and her ambiguous relationship with Hardy's character.
Minotaur
Year: 2006
Medium: Film
Role: Theo
Minotaur is a 2006 horror film set in the Minoan Bronze Age (that’s roughly 3200 BC – 600 BC, kids). More importantly, it’s one of Hardy’s first leading rolls on film. He stars as Theo, the son of a village chieftain who volunteers to be sacrificed in order to enter an underground labyrinth in pursuit of his lost love.
The Reckoning
Year: 2003
Medium: Film
Role: Straw
Set in medieval England, The Reckoning is a period murder mystery starring Paul Bettany and Willem Dafoe. Hardy excelled, and wore dramatic makeup, in his supporting role as Straw. At this point, we are very much in the 'under construction' phase of Hardy's career.