Tom Hardy (18 page)

The ‘team' seemed to gel together on the set and Tom was able to teach some of the combat skills he'd learnt in
Warrior
to Ellen Page. The pair were photographed by paparazzi while they were practising their fighting and Page joked to Jonathan Ross on his chat show: ‘It looked like he was beating up a little girl!' Tom also seemed to bond well with Leonardo DiCaprio, and their friendship continued off the set. Photos emerged of them in the crowd of spectators at a Lakers basketball game. When asked about the budding bromance by Alan Carr on his
Chatty Man
show in February 2011, Tom said of his new friend: ‘He's really good, actually, he really looks after me.'

Filming
Inception
was a great experience for them all but hard work too. It took them to a variety of locations around the world including London, Los Angeles, Paris, Tangiers, Tokyo and Calgary in Canada (where the snowy chase scenes of the third level of Fischer's subconscious landscape were filmed). Some of the actors had to give a great deal in physical terms, but Tom maintained that they were all determined to push themselves as far as they needed to for the sake of their director. Thanks to the atmosphere that Chris Nolan had created on the set of his film, all of the actors were prepared to give just that little bit extra for him. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, for example, when filming the scenes in which the characters appear to be floating weightless in the hotel, had to be suspended on a wire for three weeks. This would be a
challenge for any actor, but according to Tom they were all willing to undertake whatever was required for the film. Of Nolan, he said, ‘That's a very specific human being that can not only orchestrate this kind of movie but get trust from people like that.'

Trust is key ingredient on any Nolan set. He is a director famed for keeping the details of his films locked down prior to release – and this could be one of the reasons he chooses those familiar and loyal actors for repeat performances in his movies. Try as journalists might to winkle any information out of cast or crew about his projects, they always draw a blank. The director is firmly of the opinion that the audience will gain so much more from his films if they walk into the cinema without prior expectations. He commented: ‘I always believe that for me the most gratifying cinematic experiences as a viewer have always been films that I didn't know what to expect.' With a product as complex and innovative as
Inception
, it was easy to see why he wanted to keep an element of surprise up his sleeve. Would it be worth the wait?

The film came out in the UK in July 2010 and it was the most talked about movie of the summer. Although the Nolan shroud of secrecy had enveloped much of the detail of the film, in the months building up to the release, cinema audiences had been teased with enticing trailers showing phenomenal feats of CGI and mind-boggling special effects. Expectations were high and the film certainly delivered. The fact that it was a cerebral film with a challenging plot appealed to many of the critics and they were appreciative of how it performed on a technical level too. Philip French of the
Observer
remarked: ‘The film is the stuff that dreams are
made on, a collaborative work of great technical skill and imaginative detail where everyone is working to help the writer-director realise a personal vision…
Inception
demands and rewards our total attention as well as our emotional engagement. You'll want to see it again but not, I think, on the same day.'

Some found the film more an exhibition of style over substance and felt that, while it was visually impressive, the characters lacked emotional resonance. There's no denying that it was a film that demanded concentration from its audience, but there was a danger of some coming away from the film a bit confused. Philip French's comment that some might want to see it twice was pretty apt – the film moved fast and there was a lot of information to take in so it might have been necessary to watch it again to pick up things missed the first time around.

Although the film as a whole was a slick and impressive beast, oddly, it was Tom's understated and idiosyncratic performance that drew a great deal of attention from audiences. Many marked out one of his lines in particular as being a highlight of the film. The scene in question occurs after the team of dream-stealers has infiltrated the mind of Fischer – but the ‘guards' protecting the victim's subconscious have detected the intruders' presence and are starting to attack them by opening fire. At one point, Arthur is firing his assault rifle on the ‘projections' of Fischer's subconscious when Eames ambles over and says, ‘You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling,' promptly producing a rocket propelled grenade with which he blows up their enemies in one fell swoop. The line is classically delivered and is
wonderful in that it sums up the whole essence of the film: that in your dreams, your subconscious is limitless and you can change events with the power of your imagination. The line is one that has gone down in film history and helped Tom gain recognition as an up-and-coming Hollywood star. The
Daily Telegraph
referred to his part in the film as ‘a dry gift'.

Tom had been dying to make an impression in the USA for many years.
Bronson
had enabled him to put one foot on the ladder, but thanks to Chris Nolan he was now able to step up a rung. With the success of his performance in
Inception
came recognition on a larger scale and in February 2011, it was announced that Tom had been shortlisted for the BAFTA Rising Star Award. Tom being placed in this category was a bit ironic as he had been grafting away as an actor for many years and eight years previously had been earmarked as the ‘next big thing' before his life had taken a very different turn.

The nominations for the BAFTA Orange Wednesdays Rising Star award recognise five international actors and actresses whose talent has captured the imagination of the British public. It is a special award because it is the only one voted for by the public and, for the first time in 2011, Orange Wednesdays customers were allowed to be part of the selection process too. Tom was up against some pretty impressive competition in the category, with the other nominees being Gemma Arterton, Andrew Garfield, Aaron Johnson and Emma Stone. Previous winners of the trophy had been James McAvoy in 2006, Eva Green in 2007, Shia LaBeouf in 2008, Noel Clarke in 2009 and Kristen Stewart in 2010.

Film fans voted in the tens of thousands in advance of the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, 13 February 2011.
At the star-studded ceremony, it was announced that the public had voted Tom their 2011 Rising Star. He wasn't actually there in person to collect his award on the night, but was genuinely delighted to have won and in his statement said: ‘Thank you very much. This is very kind of you and much appreciated. I genuinely am grateful just to be working at all. I'd like to thank everyone who voted, everyone who loves a good story and every artist in the house tonight for the work they do.'

Spencer McHugh, Director of Brand at Orange said: ‘We are delighted that Tom Hardy has been chosen as this year's Orange Wednesdays Rising Star. The support for our award, in its sixth year, particularly from Orange Wednesdays customers, has been phenomenal. Tom is one of Britain's most promising young actors and clearly has a glittering future ahead of him.'

The fact that Tom didn't attend the ceremony caused a bit of a stir in the press. The
Metro
newspaper claimed that the reason for the no-show was due to the actor ‘dealing with the breakdown of his relationship with his TV actress fiancée Charlotte Riley.' Apparently, BAFTA officials had been unable to locate Tom prior to the awards and had been informed merely that he had ‘personal commitments' which precluded him from attending. No one from either Tom or Riley's camp was able to comment on the story, but Tom put matters to rights when he resurfaced to appear on Alan Carr's
Chatty Man
show on 21 February. It was clear the stories about his relationship problems had been the fabrication of journalists, hungry for a story on the new star. Carr actually had the award to present to Tom and the actor expressed how
chuffed he was that it was an accolade from the public. He went on to explain that the reason he'd not been at the ceremony was because he'd had only one weekend off in his shooting schedule and so had to choose between attending the awards or seeing his family – so it was understandable that he would want to prioritise time with his loved ones, especially his son. He joked that he and his family had watched the event on television and had become slightly anxious when it was announced that he was the winner.

Having won the award and with some fantastic new roles to get his teeth into – including Bane in
The Dark Knight
Rises
and Max in
Mad Max
– Tom was well and truly deserving of his rising star status. Even with Hollywood stardom now a reality, Tom was not one to forget the less high-profile acting projects that were still so precious to him.

When actors start to hit the big time and take home substantial pay cheques, many of them express the desire to exploit their greater earning power by taking time off and indulging in smaller budget passion projects. Tom has made no secret of his wish to do this, time permitting. ‘The American field is the place that I want to play on. The
long-term
effect is that smaller, independent films can be funded by greater exposure so I can go back to theatre or independent film.' Over the course of 2010 and 2011, he found himself in the position of being able to both perform on the stage again and to act in a short film.

The short film in which Tom played a part was
Sergeant Slaughter, My Big Brother
, directed by renowned photographer Greg Williams. Ben Macleod played Keith, the
younger brother of Tom's character Dan, an on-the-edge, violent young man who has decided to leave home and join the French Foreign Legion. Keith has his own issues in the form of a local bully who is picking on him. The short film, just over 12 minutes long, examines the nature of the relationship between the two brothers at this point in their lives.

The film was shown at various short film festivals around the USA, including the Palm Springs International ShortFest, the Sarasota Film Festival and the New York Digital Film Festival. Tom was great in the film (inhabiting his favourite territory of borderline psychotic characters), but what surprised some who saw the film – and has delighted dedicated Tom Hardy fans who might have the patience to seek out the short film online – was the full frontal nudity. In the second scene of the film, Keith walks into his brother's bedroom where Dan is sitting, making clay models, wearing only a beret and hunting knife tied to his shin. He doesn't stay seated for long, though and we are soon given an eyeful of Tom in the altogether. And it's not for just a few seconds, either. A very brave performance – his Drama Centre tutors should feel proud of how he'd succeeded in breaking down the fourth wall!

As Tom's profile has grown and he's been lucky enough to secure bigger and better roles, he's made no secret of how delighted he's been to be afforded the opportunity to work alongside some of his acting heroes. One actor who Tom holds in especially high regard is the supremely talented Philip Seymour Hoffman. In February 2010, Tom was cast in his US stage debut,
The Long Red Road
, at Chicago's Goodman Theater. The play was to be directed by Seymour Hoffman
(and was coincidentally his Chicago directorial debut) and had been written by a playwright with whom Tom had found a great affinity earlier in his career, Brett C Leonard.

Brett C Leonard and Tom had first met several years earlier at the reading of Leonard's play
Roger and Vanessa
at the Royal Academy of Arts. They had made a connection and Tom had subsequently staged a production of
Roger and Vanessa
at the Latchmere pub, where his Shotgun theatre company had been in residence at the time. ‘Brett and I spent a lot of time together and forged a really strong bond,' Tom commented when reflecting on that period of his life. The seeds of a friendship were sown and the pair were keen to create a situation where they could work together again.

The Long Red Road
is a bleak play about the horrific impact of addiction within a family. Tom's role was that of Sam, an alcoholic who uses drink as a means to obliterate a past he is unable to come to terms with. Philip Seymour Hoffman, speaking to the
Chicago Sun-Times
, summed up the plot thus: ‘The play is the story of two brothers and two families. Sam lives in a studio apartment on a South Dakota Indian reservation, where he and his girlfriend work as teachers and he drinks heavily. His wife lives back in Kansas with their 13-year-old daughter and with Sam's older brother. Nine years earlier, Sam was responsible for a terrible accident that left his wife severely maimed and one of their twin daughters dead.'

Leonard had written the part with Tom in mind and it suited him down to the ground. ‘The role fits the actor… as snugly as the T-shirt Sam wears,' wrote the
Chicago Daily Herald
. Tom had played addicts before and, although he is
able to draw from his own experiences when portraying these characters, he has often said that he knows how important it is not to impose himself on the part he's playing. ‘We try to bring ourselves to the play without influencing or judging it,' he said.

Philip Seymour Hoffman is an actor with immense presence who, as well as starring in high-profile Hollywood films, is also a respected stage actor and director. Cinema audiences know him best from films such as
Mission Impossible III
and
Red Dragon
. In 1995, he joined the New York-based theatre group LAByrinth (of which Brett C Leonard is also a member), a not-for-profit company which numbers about 100 established and emerging theatre artists. It is a creative venture that encourages its members to explore their talents in all areas of the performing arts, including directing and writing. It was under the umbrella of LAByrinth that
The Long Red Road
was produced.