9) Warrior
Having up to that point largely played Englishmen, Warrior represents a turning point for Hardy. Bulked-up, moody, and speaking with a New York twang, this was the first film of his that got people making Brando comparisons. And though this was premature – Hardy’s best work was still ahead of him – it’s still clear to see why the connection was made.
Few modern actors do simmering intensity and gruff, complex masculinity quite like Hardy, and Warrior represents the prototype for many of the tortured macho figures he has played since.
The film, directed by Gavin O’Connor, is predictable, and can be pretty blunt and artless at times, but Hardy is achingly real. His reconciliation scene with on-screen father Nick Nolte is pure Oscar-baiting cinema, but the two actors make it work, with Hardy in particular so affecting that he could wring tears even out of MMA fans.
8) Lawless
Lawless, John Hillcoat’s tale of moonshine-peddlers facing off against the law in 1930s Virginia, is – for better or worse – the film that convinced Shia LaBeouf to take up method acting. His reason? Watching Tom Hardy at work. And as LaBeouf’s character’s bruiser brother Forrest Bondurant, it’s obvious why Hardy would convince another actor to follow suit in search of the same results.
Forrest Bondurant, with his bear-like frame, woolly cardigans, propensity for violence, and loving commitment to the local barmaid, is a mass of a contradictions that only very few would have been able to bring together harmoniously. He’s a family man that cares unconditionally for those he loves, and beats almost to the point of death those he doesn’t.
Growling through his dialogue in one of his more convincing attempts at a foreign accent, Hardy plays Forrest Bondurant like a gentle giant reluctantly using crime and violence to take care of his loved ones.