Hardy has also shown interest in the hip-hop and rap scene. In a clip from 2025, Hardy described his wishes to be a "secret member" of the Wu-Tang Clan.[5] He also releases music under the hip-hop alias Frankie Pulitzer, and began making music with hip-hop trio Czarface in 2016, being featured on their album Good Guys, Bad Guys.[6][7][8] He released his most recent album, Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer with Czarface on August 28, 2026.[9][10][11]
Hardy spent much time in his youth drinking alcohol and using crack cocaine to cope with stresses and has suffered significant bouts of dysthymia. He has previously said that he was "out of control" with his alcohol and drug use before going to rehabilitation in 2003.[24][25][26]
In 1998, Hardy won The Big Breakfast'sFind Me a Supermodel competition at the age of 21 (although the programme said he was 20), earning him a brief contract with Models 1.[27] Hardy joined Drama Centre London in September 1998, and was taken out early after winning the part of the United States Army Private John Janovec in the HBO-BBC mini-seriesBand of Brothers.[28]
He made his feature film debut in Ridley Scott's war thriller Black Hawk Down (2001).[29] During this time, Hardy also had a brief stint as a rapper and hip-hop producer with his friend Edward Tracy (under the name "Tommy No 1 + Eddie Too Tall"), with whom he recorded a mixtape called Falling On Your Arse in 1999 that remained unreleased until 2018.[30]
Hardy was awarded the 2003 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer for his performances in Blood and In Arabia We'd All Be Kings performed at the Royal Court Theatre and Hampstead Theatre.[33] He was also nominated for a 2004 Laurence Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer of 2003 in a Society of London Theatre Affiliate for his performance as Skank in the aforementioned production of In Arabia We'd All Be Kings.[34] Hardy appeared with Emilia Fox in the BBC miniseries The Virgin Queen (2005) as Robert Dudley, a childhood friend of Elizabeth I. Dudley's character has been described as an ambiguous young man who is torn between the affection of his wife (played by Fox), his love for Elizabeth, and his own ambitions.[35] Hardy featured in the BBC Four adaptation of the 1960s science fiction series A for Andromeda.[36]
Hardy in 2014
In 2007, he appeared in BBC Two's drama based on a true story Stuart: A Life Backwards. He played the lead role of Stuart Shorter, a homeless man who had been subjected to years of abuse and whose death was possibly a suicide.[37] The same year he played Bill Sikes in the BBC miniseries Oliver Twist, an adaptation of Charles Dickens's novel that aired on PBSMasterpiece Classic in the US. In February 2008 he played a drug-addicted rapist in the British horror-thriller WΔZ.[38] In September 2008 he appeared in Guy Ritchie's London gangster film, RocknRolla; Hardy played the role of the gay gangster Handsome Bob.[39] In 2008 Hardy starred in the film Bronson, about the English prisoner Charles Bronson, who has spent most of his adult life in solitary confinement. For the film, he put on three stone (42lb or 19kg).[40]
In 2011, Hardy appeared in the film Warrior, which was released on 9 September 2011 by Lionsgate Films. His performance as Tommy Riordan, who is trained by his father to fight in a mixed martial arts tournament against his brother, gained praise from critics. Hardy also starred in This Means War (2012), a romantic comedy directed by McG. He played the DC Comics supervillain Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, the final film in Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy, released on 20 July 2012.[49] He played a bootlegger in John Hillcoat's crime drama Lawless (2012).[50] Hardy signed up to play the lead role of Sam Fisher in Ubisoft's film adaptation of their video game series Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.[51][52] He also appeared in Riz Mc's music video for the song "Sour Times".[53]
In 2013, Hardy starred in the drama film Locke.[54] In 2014 he appeared in the crime film The Drop alongside James Gandolfini, in what would be Gandolfini's final appearance in a feature film before his death. Hardy also joined the cast of the BBC crime drama Peaky Blinders in its second series. He portrays Alfie Solomons (who is based on a real-life East End Jewish gangster named Alfred Solomon), the head of a Jewish gang based in Camden Town, and the runner of a distillery which disguises itself as a bakery.[55] Writing for Medium, Shani Silver described Hardy's portrayal of Alfie Solomons as 'The Scene-Stealingest Character Of All Time', commenting that "I’ve never understood if Alfie was meant to be a villain or comedic foil or some pick-a-mix of both, but I’ve never loved every second of someone’s screen time more."[56]
Hardy starred in five films in 2015. The first, Child 44, set in 1950s Soviet Union, saw him playing Leo Demidov, a Soviet secret police agent who investigates a series of child murders. Despite mild praise for his acting, Child 44 was reviewed negatively by critics and was a box office failure.[57] Hardy then played the title character, Max Rockatansky, in the action film Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).[58][59] His performance was praised by critics[60][61] and overall the film received critical acclaim and became a box office success,[62] grossing over US$378million against a $150million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film in the Mad Max franchise.[63] He played a dual role as London gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray in the crime thriller Legend (2015).[64] On 7 December 2015 Hardy won Best Actor at the British Independent Film Awards for his portrayal of the Kray twins, and on the same night attended the premiere of the biographical western thriller The Revenant, in which he reunited with his Inception co-star Leonardo DiCaprio at Leicester Square, London.[65][66] On 14 January 2016 Hardy received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Revenant.[67]
Hardy is attached to star as the British war photographer Don McCullin in a film based on McCullin's autobiography, Unreasonable Behaviour.[75] Hardy reprised the role of Eddie Brock and Venom in the sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage and co-wrote the story for the film.[76] He is also slated to star as the Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton in a biopic being created by the same makers of Taboo.[77] The Shackleton film, which will cover one of the most harrowing stories of survival in exploration history, is also being produced by Hardy's production company Hardy Son & Baker.[77] In May 2024 he and Mahershala Ali were announced to be working on the crime thriller 77 Blackout. The Venom film franchise ended in October 2024 with Venom: The Last Dance.[78] Hardy starred in Guy Ritchie's MobLand which premiered 30 March 2025 on Paramount+. It features Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren as heads of the Harrigan crime family.[79] In May 2026, it was reported that Hardy would not be returning for Season 3 of MobLand, Hardy was not asked to return to the series following onset issues with executive producer Jezz Butterworth, 101 Studios, and others.[80] Subsequent reporting clarified that Hardy had not been formally dismissed and that discussions about his return were ongoing.[81] The differences were later resolved,[82] and on 3 September 2026 Paramount+ confirmed both the series' renewal for a third season and Hardy's return as Harry Da Souza.[83] Hardy also starred in the Netflix film Havoc.
In 2021, the hip-hop collective Czarface began collaborating with Hardy under his moniker Frankie Pulitzer. Their debut collaborative album, Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer, was released on August 28, 2026; it features collaborations with Busta Rhymes, Method Man and El-P.[84]
Philanthropy
In 2010, Hardy became an ambassador for the Prince's Trust (now the King's Trust), a British youth charity which provides training, personal development, business start-up support, mentoring, and advice.[85] In 2012, he and his then-girlfriend (now-wife) Charlotte Riley became patrons of Bowel Cancer UK.[86] Prior to the inaugural Invictus Games held in London in September 2014, he, along with other entertainers and athletes, read the poem "Invictus" in a promotional video.[87]
Personal life
Hardy married Sarah Ward, a producer, in 1999, and they divorced in 2004.[88] He met and began dating the assistant director Rachael Speed on the set of The Virgin Queen in 2005, and they later had a son[89] before separating in 2009.[90] That year, he began a relationship with the actress Charlotte Riley after they met on the set of Wuthering Heights, and they were married in July 2014.[91] Together they have two sons: the first born in October 2015 and the second born in December 2018. They had one rescue dog, Woodstock, and Hardy appeared with Woodstock in a PETA advertisement to promote pet adoption.[92] Woodstock died on 5 June 2017 due to an aggressive case of polymyositis at 6 years old.[93]
While portraying the prisoner Charles Bronson during the production of Bronson, Hardy met Bronson several times and the two became friends. Bronson was impressed with how Hardy managed to match his muscularity and how well he could mimic Bronson's personality and voice; stating that he believed Hardy was the only person who could play him, he also shaved off his trademark moustache and sent it to Hardy in the hopes that Hardy would wear it in the film.[94] According to George Bamby, Hardy was banned from visiting Bronson in prison following the film's release.[95]
While some outlets describe Hardy as a male feminist, he has stated that he would love to say that, but that it is a hard word for him to "throw around" because he says he has not studied feminism. Hardy added that he considers himself "pro-feminism."[96][97][98]
An avid practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, he has won a number of jiu-jitsu competitions,[99][100][101] for example at the UMAC Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open Championships in September 2022.[102] He is the lead ambassador for the REORG Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Foundation,[103] a Royal Marines-backed charity allowing current and former military personnel to learn the martial art as part of their recovery and to combat physical and mental challenges.[104] Hardy was promoted to purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu on 19 June 2023.[105] In 2026, he received his brown belt from Sonny Weston, head instructor at Horsham BJJ, in a promotion tied to a seminar visit from Tom DeBlass.[106]
In October 2023, Hardy signed the Artists4Ceasefire open letter to US President Joe Biden, calling for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza war, the release of all hostages, and the delivery of life-saving aid to civilians in Gaza.[107]
During a panel at the 2024 New York Comic Con, Hardy revealed he is autistic.[108][109] In 2026, he collaborated with Tatami Fightwear to develop the AUTsiders line to raise awareness for the neurodiverse community, with the proceeds going to autism charities.[110]
Filmography
Key
†
Denotes productions that have not yet been released
↑Rebecca Macatee, "Tom Hardy Gets a Kiss From His Dog Woodstock in Pro-Adoption Campaign for PETA—See the Pic!" EOnline.comArchived 29 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine, 28 April 2015.
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