First look at Tom Hardy as Al Capone in 'Fonzo'

Tom Hardy has dropped a first look at him playing notorious Chicago crime boss Al Capone as cameras roll on new biopic movie Fonzo.

In his prison jumpsuit, holding his iconic fedora, and head shaved, he looks pretty mean on the movie’s New Orleans set.

And thanks to another shot posted by director Josh Trank, we’ve got a first glimpse of how Capone got his nickname.

Three deep scars run up the side of Hardy’s face, while another picture finds Trank, posing with Hardy, and fellow Brit actor Stephen Graham, who may not be part of the cast (Hardy and Graham are pals off screen), but coincidentally played a young Capone in HBO series Boardwalk Empire.

Capone was given the scars in a fight in 1917, after he insulted a woman while working the door of a Brooklyn nightclub, and her brother retaliated.

It’s said that he later hired the man as a bodyguard.

The gang boss hated the nickname Scarface, given to him by the press, and would try to pass the scarring off as war wounds, despite never having served.

He’d also be photographed from his right side in order to hide the scars.

Trank, who helmed indie sci-fi hit Chronicle and the most recent Fantastic Four movie, positions his film with Capone in his late 40s, after having served time in Alcatraz.

The gangster was overweight and addled by dementia, caused by untreated syphilis, while in prison.

The official synopsis reads:

“Once a ruthless businessman and bootlegger who ruled Chicago with an iron fist, Alfonse Capone was the most infamous and feared gangster of American lore.

At the age of 47, following nearly a decade of imprisonment, dementia rots Alfonse’s mind and his past becomes present as harrowing memories of his violent and brutal origins melt into his waking life.”

Hardy will join the likes of Robert DeNiro and Rod Steiger to have played Capone on screen.

Joining him for Fonzo are Linda Cardellini, Jack Lowden, Matt Dillon and Kyle MacLachlan.

This is Trank’s first film since his Fantastic Four reboot which bombed at the box office amid stories of a hugely troubled production. The 34-year-old filmmaker had also been developing a Star Wars spin-off for LucasFilm, but he was dropped by the studio in 2015.

Interestingly, Trank’s bio on his Instagram account, which lists his feature films to date, reads: “Chronicle ********* **** Fonzo”.

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