Tom Hardy (born Edward Thomas Hardy, 15.9.1977)

Tom Hardy is a British actor, best known for his roles in Bronson and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Childhood & Early Career: Tom Hardy was born in Hammersmith, London, to Elizabeth and Edward Hardy. His mother is an artist and his father is a writer. Tom attended Reed's School and Tower House School, before studying drama at Richmond Drama School and then the Drama Centre, London.

Hardy's career started out with him appearing in war dramas such as the HBO and BBC miniseries Band of Brothers. The series, produced by Steven Spielberg, starred Tom Hanks, Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy.

He then made his feature film debut in Ridley Scott's thriller Black Hawk Down, starring Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana and Ewan McGregor.

Acting Career: Tom Hardy landed a role in the 2002 independent film Dot the I, alongside Gael Garcia Bernal. Following that, he travelled to North Africa to film Simon: An English Legionnaire. International recognition followed, when he played the role of Shinzon (a clone of Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek Nemesis.

After returning to London and appearing in the 2003 thriller LD 50 Lethal Dose, Tom Hardy was awarded the London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer, largely for his stage performances in Blood and In Arabia We'd All Be Kings.

In 2005, Tom Hardy appeared in the 2005 miniseries The Virgin Queen for the BBC, playing the role of Robert Dudley. He then went on to appear in the BBC Four adaptation of the 1960s sci-fi series A For Andromeda.

2008 saw the actor appearing in Guy Ritchie's UK gangster film RocknRolla, alongside Gerard Butler, Idris Elba and Thandie Newton. The following year, he took the lead role in Bronson, a film about Charles Bronson, a real-life prisoner who has spent much of his adult life in solitary confinement. Hardy had to gain three stone in weight for his performance, which gained him many positive reviews.

Later that year, Hardy returned to TV work, starring in a Sky One adaptation of The Take, a Martina Cole drama, again playing the role of a gangster. He also appeared in a TV serial adaptation of Wuthering Heights, playing the role of Heathcliff alongside Charlotte Riley's Cathy.

Hardy then travelled to USA to star in the Philip Seymour Hoffman-directed The Long Red Road in Chicago.

2010 was a pivotal year for Tom Hardy. It was a year in which he won a BAFTA Rising Star award, for his role in Christopher Nolan's Inception. His appearance in the film saw him sharing screen time with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Ellen Page.

Later that year, he announced - during an appearance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross - that he would be playing the title role in a new version of Mad Max. Tom Hardy then replaced Michael Fassbender in the 2011 adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which also starred Gary Oldman and Colin Firth. This was followed by landing a role in John Hillcoat's The Wettest Country in the World, in which he plays a bootlegger. The film was written by Nick Cave and also stars Shia LeBeouf and Jessica Chastain.

Hardy was then cast as one of the protagonists in Warrior, with Nick Nolte playing his father and also featuring Joel Edgerton.

The role that has perhaps attracted the most global attention for Tom Hardy, though, is his role as Bane, the villain in the 2012 Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises. It's the final film in Christopher Nolan's trilogy and stars Christian Bale as Batman, as well as Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Anne Hathaway.

He is due to play Elton John in the upcoming film Rocketman, set for 2015.

Personal Life: Tom Hardy married Sarah Ward in 1999. The pair then divorced in 2004. Hardy has a son with former girlfriend Rachael Speed. After a year of dating, he then proposed to his Wuthering Heights co-star Charlotte Riley.

During his twenties, Hardy is known to have struggled with an alcohol and crack cocaine addiction. He has been clean and sober since 2003.

Biography by Contactmusic.com