Birthday Special: 5 movies that prove Tom Hardy is everyone's man crush

Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy's wide-ranging credits that include everything from crime dramas to sci-fi thrillers have not only helped propel him on to Hollywood's A-list, but also solidified his reputation as one of the industry's most versatile actors. With Hardy's star power solely rising, here's a glance at his most amazing roles. Don't miss The Dark Knight Rises and Mad Max: Fury Road only on Sony PIX.

The Dark Knight Rises

The last instalment of Christopher Nolan's Batman films features Hardy as a masked, nihilistic villain named Bane. Even with half of his face obscured by the mask, Bane is terrifying - partly because of his physical presence and because Hardy fully commits to inhabiting that dark place required for a character with no moral compass. Hardy made lots of headlines as Bane, some of it for the muscle on show and some of it for the muffled growling that passed for the dialogues spoken through his mask. This resulted in one of the most memorable performances from the franchise and the most intimidating villains.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Hardy took the lead role for George Miller's long-awaited cult action series. Many critics voted it as the film of the year, and it was nominated for ten Oscar categories. Hardy brought a dangerous presence to the role of Max, working almost without a dialogue. His silence doesn't make his screen presence any less powerful. If anything, it only makes it more effective.

The Revenant

Hardy gained his first Oscar nomination for his performance as a treacherous trapper in this relentless wilderness adventure. Hardy could effortlessly jump between playing a charismatic man to an absolute villain. He gets to show off his talents with the latter in this Oscar-winning survival film. The Revenant tells the true story of Hugh Glass, a frontiersman who was attacked by a bear and left for dead by his partners and proceeded to make the implausible trek back to civilisation. In the movie, Hardy plays the man who wronged Glass and had courage to be against the character like him.

Inception

This mind-bending sci-fi thriller marked Hardy's first team-up with Christopher Nolan. Among an A-list ensemble, Hardy fits perfectly as the sharp-tongued identity-forger 'Eames'. He is part of a team brought together to plant a dream in the mind of an unsuspecting corporate billionaire. Hardy through his breakthrough performance in the movie stole the limelight from its lead cast.

Legend

If one Hardy isn't enough for you, Tom doubles up for this fascinating portrait of the infamous London gangster brothers, playing both smooth, menacing Reggie and psychotic Ronnie. Hardy was at the top of his game by playing the role of these twin brothers. The two characters are so different, have their own quirks and distinct speaking voices. Hardy picked up the best actor in a British Independent Film Award for his acting in the movie.

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