Tom Hardy's 10 best movie performances

Tom Hardy has risen from his humble beginnings as a wannabe model on the The Big Breakfast to one of our greatest living actors. He'll next be seen returning as Spider-Man's greatest nemesis in Venom: The Last Dance, and beyond that as an bruised detective in Netflix thriller Havoc. As we wait for the British actor's new film, we thought we'd take look back at his greatest performances to date.

From his 2001 movie debut in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down to 2017's Dunkirk, Hardy always manages to make a big impression on screen in every role, big or small. Here's his 10 best film performances so far.

Don't like our list? Let us know your favourite Tom Hardy performance in the comments below. And no, his CBeebies Bed Time Story doesn’t count.

10. Legend (2015)

This vibrant biographical look at the life of The Krays veers perilously close to panto, but Tom Hardy puts in a bravura turn as both Ronnie and Reggie that is nothing short of astonishing.

9. Inception (2010)

Hardy's first collaboration with Christopher Nolan brought the British actor to the attention of American audiences for the first time. His screen time as the suave forger Eames was limited, but he made a big impression alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. His delivery of the line "You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling" remains one of the film’s most memorable moments.

8. Dunkirk (2017)

Hardy's most recent collaboration with Christopher Nolan found the actor hidden beneath a mask and confined to a cramped fighter plane cockpit for nearly the entire film. That he was able to deliver such a compelling performance as Farrier under such strict conditions with just his eyebrows is a testament to his abilities.

7. The Drop (2014)

Hardy stars opposite James Gandolfini in this brilliant low-key crime drama that ended up being one of the Sopranos actor's last screen roles. Hardy plays Bob, a bartender in a mob-run dive bar, that gets mixed up with Chechen gangsters, and a cute little puppy.

6. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Hardy's Bane will always be remembered for his baffling vocal delivery that inspired a thousand impressions, but it was also a masterclass in physical performance too. Here, at last, Christian Bale's Batman had met his match, and Hardy was totally believable as the man who would break the Dark Knight in two.

5. Bronson (2008)

Nicolas Winding Refn's biopic of Britain's most notorious inmate required a towering central performance, and Hardy delivered a colossal one in his first major leading role. His portrayal of the ultra-violent prisoner is unhinged, muscular, and strangely poetic.

4. The Revenant (2015)

Hardy reteamed with his Inception co-star Leonardo DiCaprio for Alejandro G. Iñárritu's Oscar-winning tale of survival, and his performance as the double-crossing John Fitzgerald was rewarded with the actor's first ever Academy Award nomination. It's well deserved too.

3. Warrior (2011)

Hardy plays former-Marine turned MMA fighter Tommy Conlon in Gavin O'Connor's superb fight flick. Coming not long after Inception, Hardy's stripped-back performance as the damaged brawler opposite Nick Nolte and Joel Edgerton put Hardy on the map in America, and it remains some of his finest work on screen.

2. Locke (2013)

Hardy gives a tour-de-force performance in this single-location thriller as construction foreman Ivan Locke. The story plays out in real time as Locke races across country to deal with his marriage crisis, while also coordinating a complicated concrete pour back on site. What sounds potentially quite dull on paper, is transformed into a life-affirming work of acting genius by Hardy. It's a stunning achievement.

1. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

No-one expected the fourth film in the moribund Mad Max series to be much cop, but director George Miller obviously knew better, and Hardy proved to be the perfect replacement for Mel Gibson in this Best Picture-nominated film. Hardy's performance in Fury Road limited to just a handful of lines, but it’s a masterclass in understated subtlety. Note to directors: To get the best out of Tom Hardy, keep him confined to a vehicle for the majority of your film (see also Locke, and Dunkirk).

This article was originally published in 2020

Venom: The Last Dance is in UK cinemas from 25 October