One of the more curious movies to arrive last year was Capone, the biographical drama that followed the legendary gangster during the later stages of his life after his release from prison. We’ve seen him brought to the screen on countless occasions across both film and television over the decades, but the talent involved on either side of the camera ensured that it was a project worth keeping an eye on nonetheless.
Capone marked the directorial return of Josh Trank, who had virtually been exiled from Hollywood after the Fantastic Four debacle, which was plagued by constant rumors of bizarre behind the scenes behavior and on-set disagreements between the filmmaker and the studio. He also disowned the finished product and actively told people not to watch it, before it landed in theaters with a thud to instantly gain a reputation as one of the worst comic book blockbusters ever made, not to mention the fact that it bombed spectacularly.
Then there was the presence of Tom Hardy in the title role, which guaranteed there would be at least one aspect of Capone worth talking about, especially when the first trailer promised another out-there performance and the latest addition to his back catalogue of strange and unusual accents.
In a new interview, co-star Tilda Del Toro, who played Capone’s mysterious ex-lover Mona Lisa, revealed the lengths the leading man went to in order to fully embody the character, and it seems he was once again totally committed to his role.
“I came in and pulled Tom towards me and slapped him and then I pushed him on the couch. He was open to it and he was okay with it and he was just so conscious. He was okay with it! After that, he would say, ‘It’s okay, you can slap me’.
People don’t realize how hard prosthetics are on actors and his eyes were hurting him a lot because he had these contacts on. So I definitely felt bad for him. He very willing to go the whole way and I guess so was I. He’s so kind and was so kind about it. That was a great experience. He was extremely professional, respectful, very aware and fully present. Tom was giving as an actor and really engaged in the work. He was very kind to me. I felt like he was very confident and when he needed to deal with something specific he did.”
Capone wound up scoring largely tepid reviews, and it currently holds a 40% on Rotten Tomatoes, but unsurprisingly, Hardy’s central turn was marked out as the undoubted highlight, once again reaffirming his status as one of the industry’s most committed and dedicated talents regardless of what he appears in.