Tom Hardy talks playing Bane in The Dark Knight Rises

Full disclosure: I've got a bit of a man crush on Tom Hardy right now. After Bronson and Inception, the guy is just a force of nature on screen. With that said, he was hardly my first choice to play Bane in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. While Hardy can strike an imposing figure, it's mostly pure intensity and charisma. Bane is arguably my favorite Bat-villain, having been responsible for breaking the Dark Knight's back and putting him out of commission for months. 

However, Bane was made to look like an oaf in Joel Schumacher's awful Batman and Robin. Not only that, but he wasn't the least bit intimidating in appearance. He was a joke, to put it bluntly. This being a Christopher Nolan affair, the chances of Bane being exactly how he's portrayed in the comics is unlikely, and in a recent interview on the Alan Carr show, Tom Hardy pretty much confirms this...




In case you couldn't see the video, here's how that conversation broke down...

Alan Carr: Inception was directed by Chris Nolan and hes got you a part in that new Batman film?

Tom Hardy: Yeah
Carr: Wow, that's so cool. I wish I was you Tom..
Hardy: So do I! [laughs] Yeah its a good day to be me.
Carr: Your playing a villain called Bane. Now alot of the villains in Batman are quite camp arent they? But he is proper menacing isnt he?
Hardy: Have you seen the Joel Shumacher Batman film Batman and Robin? He doesn't look very menacing does he?
Carr: Oh yeah, maybe that's not a good example, you wont have to wear a gimp mask will you?
Hardy: Well, only if I feel like it [laughs]... No. Again, Chris Nolan will revisit that territory entirely. I wouldn't go by that at all. Plus, that's a lot of weight to put on and I've gotta start shooting in May so I'm gonna go pack up to about 13 - 14 stone [198 lbs]. I'm 12 [168 lbs] and a bit now so I've got 3 months to do that.

Ok, so he basically states that Nolan's version won't be like Shumacher's, which falls into the no-brainer category. Personally I hope he does get to wear the mask because it can be intimidating if done right. It's actually a pretty iconic look, with Bane being one of Batman's most memorable modern enemies.

Thanks to TheDailyBlam for info on this story!