The rejection that shaped Tom Hardy’s career: “You’re just not it”
Working man’s heartthrob Tom Hardy has been on the scene for a couple of decades now and still remains that buff, tough guy hero we all know and love. From providing a threatening presence in Peaky Blinders, Legend and Bronson to his supervillain/anti-hero turn in Venom and The Dark Knight Rises, Hardy remains, at the core, a London bad boy.
Hardy is also inextricably linked with Guy Ritchie, having been in his 2008 film RocknRolla, throwing up connotations of fraud, gangsters and drug addicts. Hardy has proved himself to be an incredible actor when it comes to the dark underbelly of London – and plenty of other places – and this has worked well, for the most part.
This persona has clearly served him well, and although in real life, we know him to be a huge dog-lover and, quite frankly, a softie, his lovely personality doesn’t take away from it. Much of the casting Hardy has been through, though, is predominantly based on appearance, and it seems that his buff, sculptured look has actually cost him a fair few roles, especially in the early days.
In a hideous career-defining moment in 2005, Hardy was turned down for the role of Mr Darcy in a film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. He told The Guardian that Hollywood producer Stacey Snider took him aside during auditions. “She said: ‘Honey, women over the world have a picture of what Darcy is and I’m afraid you’re just not it.’ That’s really hard for an actor.”
The setback obviously didn’t hinder Hardy’s career, but it clearly would’ve felt awful. One of Hardy’s subsequent softer-looking characters was Ricki Tarr in 2011’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, a rogue agent who ultimately helps British Intelligence with shaggy hair and soft wardrobe. Still, Hardy isn’t necessarily the Colin Firth or Matthew Macfadyen type actor with brooding allure and sparkling eyes, but he doesn’t need to be.
Hardy has carved out a career based on a hard-man image, successfully showing that he isn’t that at all. And isn’t that what good acting is about? His ability to instil fear in his foes and the audience is practically incomparable, and there has been no lack of opportunities to let this play out across his career so far.
Hardy recently played the enigmatic and frankly terrifying Johnny in The Bikeriders, the leader of the Midwestern motorcycle gang the Vandals. A new Venom film is slated for release later this year, so we’re expecting this persona of his to continue and continue to guide him towards success. Imagine if he had played Mr Darcy all those years ago.
