Tom Hardy Discusses Playing Bane in 'The Dark Knight Rises'

Tuesday, 02 August 2011 14:41 Written by Jordan DeSaulnier

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Tom Hardy Discusses Playing Bane in 'The Dark Knight Rises'

British actor Tom Hardy has come an awful long way and gained an awful lot of muscle mass since playing the skinny Shinzon, the equally bald and thoroughly villainous clone of Captain Picard in 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis. Since earning no end of praise as the title character Nicolas Winding Refn's Bronson, Hardy has lined up an impressive assemblage of noteworthy upcoming roles, including taking over for Mel Gibson as the eponymous postapocalyptic badass in George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road. Right now, though, he's in Pittsburgh filming The Dark Knight Rises with his Inception director Christopher Nolan. The forthright actor recently talked about playing the musclebound baddie Bane and may very well have spilled some spoilerific beans about the story.

Talking to Total Film, Hardy said Nolan approached him while he was filming the McG-directed romantic actioner This Means War, in which he stars alongside Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine. He recalled his thoughts upon getting the offer, saying "‘Hang on a minute. You’re asking me to come round the world with you in a Batman movie, playing a villain, and the only downside to it is I have to wear a mask? Hmmm, let me think. I’ll get back to you… No, I’m fucking there, man! Anything you need.’”

Of the mask, which we've seen in an official image, as well as the teaser trailer and a slew of set photos, Hardy said, "Any time you put something over your face, you’re going to adopt a personality and a physicality that has nothing to do with acting. It allows a performance to be free."

The late Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker in 2008's The Dark Knight was unanimously beloved, but Hardy's not feeling a particular pressure to top his predecessor's villainous work. "Brilliant actor, brilliant work – that’s it," he said. "I’ve got a job to do."

Here's where Hardy may have dropped a spoiler, though it's hard to say for sure. If you're rather not know a huge potential The Dark Knight Rises spoiler, just skip this next paragraph.

In the DC Comics lore, Bane's big claim to fame is being the character who broke Batman's back in the Knightfall storyline of the mid-1990's. Of course, there has been ample speculation and plenty of rumors suggesting that the new cinematic Bane will do the same, paralyzing Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne. Asked directly if he'll do some back-breaking, Hardy replied, "Mmmmm… Good lead-in, but all I can say is that Chris has a plan up his sleeve that’s not at all disappointing. And that is a definite choice that’s watertight in every respect."

That's the end of possible spoilers. Before The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters on July 20, 2012, Tom Hardy has a whole bunch of films headed your way. First is Warrior, in which he co-stars with Joel Edgerton as MMA-fighting brothers. That will be followed by turns in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and The Wettest Country in the World, along with the aforementioned The Means War.