TOM HARDY IN “DUNKIRK” (NOW SHOWING)

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TOM HARDY DISPLAYS TRUE GRIT AS HEROIC PILOT IN “DUNKIRK”

Nominated for an Oscar for his performance in the epic frontier drama The Revenant, Tom Hardy re-teams with frequent collaborator Christopher Nolan (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises) in the action thriller Dunkirk (read my review here).

Movie scene photo credit: Warner Bros.

Dunkirk opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea, they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in.

The story unfolds on land, sea and air. RAF Spitfires engage the enemy in the skies above the Channel, trying to protect the defenseless men below. Meanwhile, hundreds of small boats manned by both military and civilians are mounting a desperate rescue effort, risking their lives in a race against time to save even a fraction of their army.

Tom Hardy, who plays Farrier, the more senior RAF pilot, had perhaps the most personal connection to the project. “My granddad was at Dunkirk,” he reveals. “He told me about it.”

Producer Emma Thomas says there were other reasons Hardy was perfect for the role. “He’s in a small cockpit of a plane, so his movements are very restricted, but Tom has a very big presence and can use his physicality in very interesting ways. And once again, we have much of his face covered, but the reason you can do that with Tom is because he is such an expressive actor you don’t need to see all of his face. There are moments in the film where all that’s visible are his eyes, and yet he can communicate and tell a story just with that.”

Hardy says he was eager to reunite with Nolan, stating, “Chris is the best at what he does. He pushes and inspires me as an actor. I’d jump on any role just to be in the company.”

Dunkirk features a multigenerational ensemble cast, including Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy and Barry Keoghan, with Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance and Tom Hardy.

Dunkirk is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

TOM HARDY IN A RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF A KILLER IN “CHILD 44”

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Tom Hardy, known for memorable portrayals in “The Dark Knight Returns” as the evil Bane, a violent convict in “Bronson,” a volatile bartender in “The Drop” and scene stealing roles in “Inception,” “RocknRolla” and “This Means War,” stars and shines anew in “Child 44,” produced by Ridley Scott, a film filled with a stellar cast of truly gifted actors and filmmakers – Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Noomi Rapce, Vince Cassel and Jason Clarke.

                Hardy takes on the role of Leo Demidov in ”Child 44,” based on the best-selling novel by Tom Rob Smith of the same title.  Leo is an orphan turned war-hero in Stalinist Russia who eventually lost his status as a ranking official when he refused to denounce his wife, Raisa (Rapace) and has since then under the grueling watch of rival psychopath Vasili (Kinnaman), who are bent to put the couple down whatever it takes.  Leo as part of the MGB, the Soviet intelligence agency in the 1950s has uncovered lies behind the series of killings of young boys across the Soviet Union, which the agency masked under the Stalinist belief that ‘There is no crime in paradise.’  Fuelled by his innate moral dictate, Leo, despite being stripped of his status from the agency pursues the serial killer, discovering a total 44 victims (boys) killed across the country.  

                Leo, an unlikely hero in an adventure of such grand historical scope in “Child 44” is played to the hilt by Hardy who was attracted to the moral complexity of his character.  Further, he is equally thrilled to reunite and work again with Rapace whom he also starred with in “The Drop.”  The filmmakers are unanimous in casting Hardy for their unlikely hero who is capable of handling the script’s demanding emotional and physical range, from quiet dramatic moments to brutal action sequences. They also needed someone who could subtly express the protagonist’s inner conflicts as he struggles to find his humanity in an inhuman situation.

                “Child 44’s” 15-week shoot took place over the summer of 2013 in the Czech Republic. The capital city of Prague doubled for Cold War-era Moscow. Prague’s beautiful old National Theatre and the Rudolfinum, a neo-Renaissance concert hall, were used to shoot scenes in which the elite group of MGB officers and their wives watch “Swan Lake” performed by Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet. In cooperation with the Czech Republic’s Cinematography Fund, director Espinosa worked closely with Roelfs to secure as many period-specific locations as possible. “Prague and the Czech Republic had the best mix of Soviet-style architecture from the 1950s and 1960s within one hour of the city center and a highly experienced crew base,” says executive producer Adam Merims.

Contrasted with Moscow’s urban splendor is the grimy village of Vosk, where the exiled Leo and Raisa first meet Nesterov. A “ghastly, dirty, filthy industrial sort of swamp,” as Beaven describes it, Vosk is the desolate outpost where non-conformists are forced to live as punishment for deviating from Communist Party groupthink.

“Child 44’s” climactic showdown in Rostov at the Rostelmach Factory, home base for the serial killer, was shot amid the industrial landscapes of Králuv Dvur and Hrádek u Rokycan. “The world that Daniel gives you is so authentic that it actually does a great deal of the work for you,” Oldman says.

TOM HARDY REVEALS NEW SIDE OF HIMSELF IN "THE DROP"

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                The discovery of an abandoned and abused puppy leads a lonely bartender out of his constricted world in "The Drop," a riveting journey through a rarely seen side of working-class Brooklyn. The first film written by best-selling author Dennis Lehane, "The Drop" sets an unusual love story against the volatile backdrop of organized crime’s unbreakable grip on the small pubs and taverns used as money-laundering “drops.”

Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight

                Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) slings drinks in his Cousin Marv’s (James Gandolfini in his final performance) bar and looks the other way whenever Brooklyn crime bosses use the place as a temporary bank for their ill-gotten gains. He keeps to himself, attending Mass daily at the old neighborhood parish church, but never taking Communion.

                Bob’s simple life becomes much more complicated when he discovers a battered pit bull puppy in a trash can. Turning to his neighbor Nadia (Noomi Rapace) for help, he nurses the puppy back to health, as their mutual concern for the dog sparks an unexpected attraction between them. But when Eric Deeds (Matthias Schoenaerts), the dog’s original owner and Nadia’s abusive ex-boyfriend, tries to reclaim both of them, and a robbery at the bar puts Bob in the crosshairs of the Chechen crime boss who owns it, Bob is forced to face the shocking truth about the people he thinks he knows best—including himself.

                To direct the movie, the producers selected Michaël R. Roskam, a Belgian with one feature film to his credit: "Bullhead," a dark thriller about a brooding and dangerous loner that was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2011.

                “It was such a strong debut for a director,” says executive producer Larocca. “The way he handled the cast made it really clear that this is a guy who knows how to work with actors. Our script has rich and deeply complex characters, so we needed someone we knew could work with actors to draw out truly extraordinary performances.”

                The success of Roskam’s first feature was rapidly opening doors for the director in Hollywood, and he gave careful consideration to the choices he was offered. “This is the first time I have directed a film from a script I didn’t write,” Roskam says. “One of the things that drove my decision was that I wished I had written it. I knew it was the story for me. It was extremely well-written and plot-driven, but with the kind of complex character development that appeals to me.”  

                "The Drop" will open in cinemas soon from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Tom Hardy in Lawless

Fresh from terrorizing Gotham City as the formidable villain Bane in the blockbuster “The Dark Knight Rises” last July, Tom Hardy is back on the big screen as a ruthless gangster in The Weinstein Company's epic thriller “Lawless.” 

Photo courtesy of Weinstein Company

To be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3 and Trinoma) starting Oct. 24, “Lawless” is the true story of the infamous Bondurant Brothers: three bootlegging siblings who made a run for the American Dream in Prohibition-era Virginia. Based on author Matt Bondurant’s fictionalized account of his family, The Wettest County in the World, the film gathers an ensemble of gifted, dynamic new-generation stars – LaBeouf, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke and Mia Wasikowska – alongside two of the finest actors of their generations, Guy Pearce and Gary Oldman. 

A riveting, intense story of crime and corruption, loyalty and love, brutality and tenderness, “Lawless” is a rich addition to the American gangster canon.

Shia LaBeouf had been looking for opportunities to work with acclaimed English actor Tom Hardy. The two had struck up a friendship after LaBeouf sent Hardy a fan email about his arresting performance in the crime biopic “Bronson,” and had begun forwarding scripts back and forth to one another. LaBeouf sent Bondurant’s novel The Wettest County in the World to Hardy, followed by Nick Cave’s screenplay for “Lawless.” Hardy loved them both, and proved to be ideal casting for the role of quiet, fearless and fearsome Forrest Bondurant.

Director John Hillcoat was also keen to work with Hardy, whose reputation as an exceptional talent preceded him. “I kept hearing about this incredible guy called Tom Hardy. I started watching his work, and I was awestruck - he was amazing. I could also see Tom and Shia as brothers. And Tom’s take on the character was quite audacious - he saw Forrest as the matriarch and the patriarch of the family, in the wake of their parents’ deaths. He wanted to explore Forrest’s softer side and play him in a quiet, contained way.”

Hillcoat adds, “By taking on the roles of the mother and the father of this family, he was really responsible and very caring, especially towards his brothers. But because of the time and the culture, he is unable to articulate it. Tom’s approach was very much about the different emotional textures there were to Forrest and how distilled and controlled he was. It was a unique and fascinating attitude towards the character.”

Tom Hardy has quickly become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors. He most recently appeared in Christopher Nolan’s critically hailed “Inception,” alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Ken Watanabe, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard and Ellen Page. 

Hardy rejoined Nolan on “The Dark Knight Rises” where he played the villain role of Bane opposite Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gary Oldman.

Other films include “Warrior,” opposite Joel Edgerton, the story of two estranged brothers facing the fight of a lifetime, an inspirational action drama from director Gavin O’Connor; also “This Means War,” and the Cold War thriller, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” with Colin Firth and Gary Oldman.

TOM HARDY, PURE MENACE AS BANE IN “THE DARK KNIGHT RISES”

In Warner Bros.' new action-thriller “The Dark Knight Rises” – the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy – the threat to Batman/Bruce Wayne comes in the form of a merciless, masked villain named Bane, who makes his presence known to the citizens of Gotham with an explosive display of power. 

Tom Hardy as Bane

             While the Scarecrow was a madman and the Joker an anarchist, “Bane is a terrorist in both his mentality and his actions,” says actor Tom Hardy, who plays Batman’s new arch-nemesis. “He is physically intimidating and he’s also very intelligent, which makes him even more dangerous.”

             Nolan relates, “In deciding on who the next villain would be, it was imperative that it was someone completely different from the Joker—that he be a brute force. The physical component of what Bruce Wayne does as Batman is of extraordinary importance, and we had not truly challenged that in the first two films. I really wanted to see Batman meet his match physically, as well as intellectually. Bane is raw strength with a fanatical devotion to duty, and that combination makes him unstoppable.”

             “This is the first time it appears highly unlikely that Batman will come out on top in a physical altercation,” allows Christian Bale who plays the superhero. “He has been dormant for years, so he’s in a weakened condition to begin with, and Bane is not only incredibly strong but ruthless in terms of his sheer militancy and the ideology that drives him.”

             Bane, however, has no such compunctions. Everything he does is a means to an end. Hardy attests, “Bane has come to do a job and has no feelings of remorse or shame about the death and destruction he’s causing. There is nothing ambiguous about Bane. He is clearly a villain…just a horrible piece of work.”

             Bane is infamous among Batman comic fans for the terrible harm he inflicts on the Caped Crusader. Having recently worked with Hardy on “Inception,” Nolan knew he could project an extreme physical and psychological threat despite having to act from behind a mask. “When you’re creating a monstrous presence like Bane in a movie, you could concentrate just on the physical or you could focus on the more psychological aspects. With Tom, I knew I would get the whole package. He is such an incredible actor; he was able to depict this beast of a man who has exceptional fighting skills, but also able to convey the soul of someone who is damaged inside as well as out. Tom is the kind of actor who relished the challenge of having to generate an entire performance with most of his face covered up. What he is able to do with just his eyes is truly amazing.”

             Hardy states that the mask was not a deterrent when given an opportunity to rejoin the director, especially on a Dark Knight film. “Chris called me up and said there was a role I might be good for, but he wasn’t sure I’d be interested because I’d have to wear a mask for several months. He wouldn’t tell me anything else about the character, except that he was a very bad guy. I said, ‘Let me get this straight: you want me to come and work with you, travel around the world, have a stunt team and all the weapons I could possibly want to play with, and all I have to do is wear a mask?’ He answered, ‘Yeah, pretty much…’ And I said, ‘I’m in!’”

             Unlike Batman, Bane does not wear a mask to conceal his identity, but to anesthetize himself against excruciating pain, resulting from injuries he suffered long ago. Countering Nolan’s concerns, Hardy says, “I didn’t feel limited by the mask. What’s cool about it is, as soon as you put it on, you become the character.”

             The actor adds that his portrayal of Bane entailed creating a contradiction between the voice and the body. “He is florid in his speech, but has the physicality of a gorilla. So while he is quite articulate, we also wanted to establish a very imposing presence.”

             Opening across the Philippines on Thursday, July 19 in IMAX, 2D and regular theaters, “The Dark Knight Rises” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.