The one movie that “really hurt” Tom Hardy: “You’re just not it”
Tom Hardy is easily one of the most recognisable British stars of the 21st century, crafting an incredibly successful career thanks to his sheer versatility. Taking on characters such as DC’s Bane and the Kray twins to Mad Max, Hardy has proved himself to be one of the film industry’s most capable leading men.
After studying at the Drama Centre London, Hardy landed a minor role in the television series Band of Brothers, and his film debut came shortly after with a part in Black Hawk Down. Through the 2000s, Hardy appeared in movies like Marie Antoinette, Bronson, and RocknRolla before the 2010s saw him take on even more successful roles in Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, The Revenant, Venom, Peaky Blinders and many more.
Those roles have all found him in a similar position. He is an unstoppable, brutish presence on screen. Though he is entirely capable of vulnerability and delicacy with his performances, most of his best moments come off the back of a truly rugged figure. It has, despite his best attempts, left him a little typecast.
These days, Hardy could surely land any job he desires due to his coveted status in the industry, yet it wasn’t always that easy for him. In the mid-2000s, the actor admitted to being “really hurt” when he failed to make it past the audition for Pride and Prejudice.
It turns out Hardy was set on playing everyone’s favourite miserable love interest, Mr Darcy, in Joe Wright’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s iconic 1813 novel. While the book has been adapted for the big screen countless times, such as in 1995, with Colin Firth playing Elizabeth Bennet’s lover, Wright’s version has since become the most popular. Released in 2005, the intelligent, loveable protagonist is portrayed by Kiera Knightley, with Rosamund Pike, Carey Mulligan, Jena Malone and Talulah Riley playing the other Bennet sisters.
The role of Mr Darcy was given to Matthew MacFayden, who does an outstanding job of capturing the uptight, logical character’s essence, who is hiding secret depths underneath his cold demeanour. However, Hardy was desperate to play the part. If he were to land the role, the film would have been a significant departure from the crime and thriller movies that predominantly comprised his filmography. Yet his performance in Marie Antoinette suggested that he was more than capable of starring in a period drama.
Unfortunately for Hardy, Wright and his crew were not convinced that the actor was right for the role. He was told that “every woman in the world has an impression of who Darcy is and you’re just not it.”
Hardy recalled to The Telegraph: “That hurt, that really hurt. I’d worn a blue shirt and jeans and a blue blazer and been doing my best Hugh Grant impression. But now I was back to playing the wonky skewiff-teeth kid with the bow legs.”
Hardy as the upper-class and uptight love interest doesn;t feel like a fit that would have given the movie the success and cult following it now has. Hardy’s brilliance is not in his demure and downplayed portrayals but in his rugged, animalistic performances. Once described by co-star Shia LaBeouf as a “gorilla” on set, it is difficult to imagine such simian qualities working within the confines of Pride and Prejudice.
Watch the trailer for Pride and Prejudice, starring MacFayden as the iconic character, below.
