Tom Hardy‘s undoubtedly one of the most beloved – and talented – actors of his generation. The British star’s been at the forefront of Hollywood for the best part of a decade now, appearing in such blockbuster movies as Inception, The Dark Knight Rises and Dunkirk. Later this year, he’ll return to the comic book genre for Sony’s Venom spinoff, a film that the studio will no doubt be hoping to kickstart a franchise with.
That might not be what Hardy himself wants, however. In an eye-opening interview with Esquire, the 40-year-old spoke about his honest opinion on where his career is currently and how he feels like he’s practically done everything he wants to do in terms of acting.
Here’s how Hardy described it:
“You’ve summited Everest. It’s a miracle that you’ve made it anywhere near the fucking mountain, let alone climbed it. Do you want to go all the way back and do it again? Or do you want to get off the mountain and go fucking find a beach?”
As he reaches middle age, it seems the star’s having a crisis of faith about what keeps him acting. He posed this rhetorical question in the interview and admitted he didn’t know the answer and suggested he might just want to focus on his private life with his family.
“What is it that draws you to the craft? At this age, I don’t know anymore. I’ve kind of had enough. If I’m being brutally honest, I want to go on with my life.”
Hardy’s comments here will likely worry his many, many fans across the globe. Just yesterday, for instance, a poll named him as one of the top picks to play the next James Bond. Not to mention the countless other roles folks would like to see him tackle.
We’ll have to respect whatever decision Hardy makes about his career in the future, but here’s hoping that an exciting new job opportunity comes his way which reinvigorates his passion for acting. A great talent like Tom Hardy has decades of amazing performances ahead of him and it would be a tragic loss to the movie business if they never happened.