In a recent interview with The Daily Beast, Tom Hardy spoke openly about transforming your body for an acting job. Hardy explained that it was tough to pack on muscle on to his naturally thin 5’9 frame so he can play Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. It was so tough that he did not plan on doing it again for his new TV series Taboo.
“I don’t want to give too much away about it, but there’s definitely a transformation with that role. I don’t know if it’s as drastic as Bane. I’ve probably damaged my body too much. I’m only little! If I keep putting on weight I’ll collapse like a house of cards under too much pressure.”
The 39-year-old actor explained how he believes age makes a huge difference in the toll that hardcore physical training has on your body, especially when it’s impossible to stick to a gym schedule to maintain your fitness.
“I think you pay the price with any drastic physical changes. It was alright when I was younger, to put myself under that kind of duress, but I think as you get into your 40s you have to be more mindful of the rapid training, packing on a lot of weight and getting physical, and then not having enough time to keep training because you’re busy filming, so your body is swimming in two different directions at the same time. And then after the film I’m tired, and you maybe have to change your shape again and go back to your normal size for the next film.”
Hardy went on to explain that he does not consider his body “damaged” but, he still has aches and pains from his time transforming his body for various acting jobs.
“To go from one extreme to another has a cost. I haven’t damaged my body, but I’m certainly a bit achier than I used to be! I kind of miss it. Compared to Christian Bale I’ve been by no means extreme in my body changes, but for what little I’ve done, yeah, I certainly have joints that click that probably shouldn’t click, you know what I mean? And carrying my children is a little bit harder than it used to be—but don’t tell them!”
