Tom Hardy (This Means War) is an actor whose undeniable magnetism has taken an introvert along for one of the more complicated paths toward stardom.
Hardy was first glimpsed in 2001's Black Hawk Down, as one of Ridley Scott's many talented actors thrown into the quagmire of Mogadishu, and is just one of the discoveries modern audiences can discover in it. However, you'll have to look pretty closely to catch him.
His breakthrough was supposed to be as the villain in 2002's Star Trek Nemesis, where he stood toe-to-toe with Patrick Stewart (unless your name is Ian McKellen, very few actors have been granted the honor and embraced it like Tom did), yet audiences glossed over the film and probably assumed whatever hype surrounding Hardy's name at the time was too closely associated with the box office failure.
What followed was a few years where Hardy struggled to regain his footing. Some of the more notable (and enlightening, if you go back and see those, too, now) performances from this period included supporting roles in 2004's Layer Cake and 2008's RocknRolla, both of them prime examples of recent British swagger in film.
Still, if you truly want to experience Hardy's electricty onscreen, look no further than Bronson, also from 2008, which is his first transformation into a formidable physical presence, which has since turned into something of a trademark. From the same director as last year's Drive, it's the biggest reason why Hardy suddenly found himself with a real career again, and with good reason. In fact, stop reading this right now and watch it.
Of course, the movie where mass audiences actually discovered Hardy was 2010's Inception, which he steals from both Leonardo DiCaprio and Christopher Nolan. Not too bad for someone who was an afterthought before he could properly enter anyone's minds.
My favorite Hardy performance, however, is in last year's Warrior, which I maintain should have at least gotten him an Oscar nomination.
All of which is to say, one way or another, you are going to love Tom Hardy.
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