Tom Hardy doesn't shy away from a dramatic on-screen transformation for the sake of a role. As an avid fan of the action genre, the actor, 48, has previously bulked up for The Dark Knight Rises and had to gain 35 pounds in five weeks to play Charles Bronson. But over his many Hollywood credits, there's one slightly less taxing way he's completely altered his look.
While playing a 1920s gangster in Peaky Blinders, Tom sprouted a full beard and stache. He also rocked a statement moustache in the 2008 biopic Bronson and had a scruffy beard for his latest role in the crime thriller series MobLand, just to name a couple more of his facial hair transformations.
Back in 2015, the actor had been married to actress Charlotte Riley for just under a year when his wife had the best response to being asked how she felt about her husband's facial hair growth. While some women might prefer the clean shaven look, Charlotte simply remarked: "I just love him however he comes."
© Luke Varley/Paramount+Earlier in the interview, she told Glasgow Times: "I think beards are fab as long as there is no food in them and they smell nice. Yeah, they're better than short and spiky because that's not good for women's delicate skin."
Tom and Charlotte's long-term marriage
While Tom and Charlotte have both appeared in the historical drama series Peaky Blinders and London Has Fallen since getting married more than a decade ago, they actually first met on a different acting project years earlier.
The couple hit it off on the set of ITV's 2009 series Wuthering Heights, where they played complicated lovers Healthcliff and Catherine Earnshaw respectively. They got engaged just a year later and tied the knot in secret in the South of France in 2014.
Tom and Charlotte now live a quiet life in the countryside with their two children together after it was reported in 2018 they had relocated from London.
© ITV/ShutterstockTheir first child was reportedly born in 2015 and their second in 2019. Tom also has a teen son, Louis, from a previous relationship.
"Being a father has given me the kind of purpose that makes you think more carefully about how you live your life," he opened up about fatherhood to HELLO! in 2015.
"I made a lot of mistakes, and I put my mum and dad through a lot because they were so worried about me. I take great pride in being a father and make sure I'm there for him and helping him as he makes his way in the world."
Tom's physical transformations on screen
Tom's on-screen transformations have gone well beyond growing out stubble. While playing imprisoned Charles Bronson in the 2008 crime action film, Tom had to rapidly gain weight to play the real-life criminal. The actor put on an average of seven pounds every week for five weeks, telling Ask Men that the task "was a race against the clock".
"I ate chicken and rice… Then I’d have a pizza, Haagen-Dazs, and Coca-Cola… I had to quickly put a lot of weight on my forearms, chest and neck”.
But with being in lots of action films has come a physical toll on the actor as he gets older. "I’ve had two knee surgeries now, my disc’s herniated in my back, I’ve got sciatica as well,” he revealed his on-set struggle to Esquire, adding: "It's all falling to bits now."
