You can tell a lot about a man by the car he drives, but looks can be deceiving.

In "Locke," out today, Tom Hardy's character Ivan spends the entire movie behind the wheel in the confines of a car. The married man speeds his BMW from Birmingham to London when a former fling calls with urgent news.

The movie is a bit of a stunt: one actor in a car, three cameras, shot over eight nights, and all taking place in real time. And, although there's not a single car chase, the suspense builds over the course of its 85 minutes.

"Hardy's the furthest thing from being a stunt driver," writer-director Steven Knight told Yahoo Movies. "He's Ivan, an ordinary man in an ordinary car living through an ordinary tragedy on a single night."

Over the phone this week, Yahoo Movies got a little gearhead with "The Dark Knight Rises" villain, future Elton John impersonator, and as it turns out, Audi lover.

Yahoo Movies: Why this BMW? What does the car say about Ivan Locke?

Tom Hardy: I couldn't get an Audi. We tried to get an Audi. But it was a low-budget film. We wanted a Land Rover, and they passed. So, next, we went to BMW. We got two cars for two weeks. It does seem like the sort of car Ivan Locke would drive. He is successful in what he does and it is spacious with German technology and properly engineered. Still, to be honest, it's his wife's car. Ivan would have had a Land Rover.

Were you actually driving?

I got dragged down the motorway by a low load. The journey was taken care of for me.

That low load was a flatbed truck with the BMW strapped on. The filmmakers shot in sequence, sometimes twice a night, for eight nights ... Is shooting the movie in sequence so unusual?

As an actor accustomed to the stage, it's a pretty standard way of performance: repetition of the same thing and getting a different outcome. It was like a stage play, or a rehearsed reading. I'm quite used to reading a piece out loud. What was different was that we were on the road and shooting and slowly bringing that character to life.

[Related: Tom Hardy is a Multilayered Man of Mystery in New 'Locke' Poster]

Is Ivan a good driver – and what about you?

I drove safely and not above the speed limit. In between the lines, that's how I drove in character. And, me, I'm just below the line as a driver.

What car do you drive off-camera?

I drive an Audi RS6. It's a dad wagon that can also do 200 mph.

What was your first car?

That was an Audi as well. My name is Edward Thomas Audi.

Having been caught rapping on the street with your baby strapped to your chest in a viral video, do you also sing behind the wheel?

No, I don't sing in the car. No, I don't sing Elton John in the car. I don’t think Elton John sings Elton John in the car.

[Related: The 7 Bane-iest Responses from Tom Hardy's Reddit AMA]

Next May, you play the role that made Mel Gibson famous in "Mad Max: Fury Road." That futuristic thriller places your character behind the wheel but with a lot more raging. And Max Rockatansky drives an Interceptor not a BMW. Can you discuss any parallels between the two movies?

No. I'm not allowed to. I've got the old shackles on. The v8 interceptor is there. And it's a life-crisis journey, so there are similarities between the two. I'm not being a d--k. But contractually, I'm mum.