Tom Hardy’s least favourite kind of director: “Why are you here?”
Tom Hardy has worked with some truly monumental directors. He made his big screen debut with Black Hawk Down, helmed by the legendary Ridley Scott. That same year, he appeared in the Steven Spielberg-created miniseries Band of Brothers, and he is also a favourite of Christopher Nolan’s, having appeared in three of his films to date.
Working with so many famous creative types isn’t always easy. Hardy has spoken about finding Nicolas Winding Refn hard to work with during the making of Bronson, and there are surely countless other stories of clashing egos just waiting to be told one day. The star has his favourite filmmakers to work with and, conversely, there are the ones he dreads sharing a set with.
When asked by Vulture about the types of directors he enjoys working with, Hardy confessed his preference for writers. “A writer comes with nothing, and he writes something down and there’s a story,” he said. “Then a bunch of actors come along, and people can watch that.” The one type of person he has absolutely no time for, however, is an auteur. “Then a third person comes along and says, ‘I really love what you guys are doing. And if you’d just do it the way I see it, we’d really be onto something.’ And there’s part of me that goes: ‘Why are you here?’”, he announced, before saying, “A director who hasn’t written something, and they say, ‘Trust me.’ And I’m like, ‘With what, mate?’”
The quasi-method actor has been very frank about his dislike of certain directors. He enjoys working with Nolan and George Miller and has revealed that he enjoyed his time being directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman in a play. As for everybody else, however, he finds them a bit difficult. “Sometimes a filmmaker might not want to tell you what he’s doing,” he said. “He might not want to let you watch his dailies. And you go, ‘Oh, fuck it.’ Because then you have to do what they call ‘trust.’ Now why the fuck would I do that?”
Hardy voiced these thoughts while promoting his 2015 Legend. The British star grabbed headlines playing both Ronnie and Reggie Kray, a pair of notorious gangster brothers who ruled London’s underworld during the 1960s. It was directed by Brian Helgeland, who also wrote the script. In fact, before he turned his hand to directing, writing had been Helgeland’s sole profession. He penned the scripts for Mystic River and LA Confidential, the latter of which netted him the Academy Award for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’.
While Hardy isn’t adverse to starring in major franchise movies—fronting the absolutely dismal Venom series—he has found a niche starring in well-funded, director-driven movies. Both the aforementioned Nolan and Miller are known for their uncompromisingly original ideas, and Hardy has also recently appeared in Capone, Josh Trank’s biopic of the legendary mobster, and The Bikeriders, a chronicling of a biker gang modelled on the famous Outlaws chapter.
Having been around the block a few times now, Hardy will know that, to have any sort of career in Hollywood, you have to work with people you don’t like. Still, that hasn’t stopped him slagging off these people in interviews, and you have to admire his honesty.
