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The injuries that Tom Hardy has racked up after close to two-decades of making action movies are beginning to pile up. According to Hardy, is body is “falling to bits.”
While Tom Hardy is largely recognized for being an emotionally intense performer, some of the most iconic roles of his career have been intensely physically demanding, such as Warrior in 2011, playing Bane in The Dark Knight Rises in 2012 and Max Rockatansky in Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015.
In addition to those parts, Hardy has also had action-heavy roles (or at least physically demanding) in films such as The Revenant, Dunkirk, and now Gareth Evans’ Havoc.
Now, Hardy says, those injuries — knee surgeries, herniated discs, sciatica — have taken such a toll that he feels his body will never get better.
“I’ve had two knee surgeries now, my disc’s herniated in my back, I’ve got sciatica as well. And I have that… is it plantar fasciitis? Where did that come from? And why? Why?! And I pulled my tendon in my hip as well. It’s like, it’s all falling to bits now, and it’s not going to get better,” Hardy said during a recent interview with Esquire U.K.
Hardy seems to be in a generally retrospective mood about his career, as he continued by saying that while he’s not retiring, he’s beginning to ask himself what it’s all for — classically brooding Tom Hardy, if we’re all being honest.
“I’ve done a little bit in every single genre that I’ve ever wanted to do, and I’ve played on some big fields, you know? I’ve done some stinkers, I’ve done some cool things, I’ve played with some really amazing luminaries and people, I’ve had some really cool opportunities. I’m not retiring myself but I’m just saying, ‘What do you want to do with that?’” the Academy Award-nominated actor explained.
“I’ve been running at something that I had to run at, to get an understanding that it’s not going anywhere. There’s only more, more, more. Of what? Stomach ulcers? Blood pressure? Your knees are going, your hair’s falling out, your teeth are wonky, you’re almost 50… Maybe it’s a self-worth thing, maybe it’s not finishing school, maybe it’s not being good enough. But all this ‘I’ll show, I’ll show’… Show who? No one cares! I know I can do it. Well then, chill out.”
In addition to starring in the Gareth Evans film Havoc — Evans previously directed The Raid and its sequel, two of the definitive action movies of the 2010s — Hardy is also currently featuring in the Paramount+ series MobLand, which we interviewed the actor about earlier this month.
In addition to Mob Land, we also discussed mastering different British dialects and his interest in making another Mad Max movie. You can check out that interview below.