I’m still not watching Taboo, you guys. I have no apologies about that because A) the series wasn’t made for me, it was made for dudes and B) I still think it looks messy as hell. Tom Hardy plays a half-Native American dude (I got that wrong initially, I thought he cast himself as half-black, but no, he cast himself as biracial Native American) who comes back to England to f—k some sh-t up, for reasons. “Savage” reasons, because sure. Considering Taboo is Hardy’s baby – he created the story and produces and stars – he’s been a whole new man as he promotes the show. He’s not acting like he’s too good for anything, there’s no fighting with journalists or anything. He’s been playful and dare I say delightful in interviews. He chatted with the Daily Beast recently to talk about the show and more – go here to read. Some highlights:

Being cast on ‘Band of Brothers’: “Oh, it’s huge. A lot of serendipity… yeah, it seemed like everyone from the Band of Brothers camp was in Black Hawk Down as well! Band of Brothers was kind of this flipbook of a lot of the actors around now that are making a lot of noise…. They needed so many men, obviously. It was a year long and they had so many episodes. I was drawn out of drama school early because I think they were running out of bodies to use! It was a huge case and a fantastic show as well. Great series.”

He went to drama school with Michael Fassbender: “I was a teenager when I went to drama school with Michael Fassbender and he was two years above me, and for his year, he was the dude, you know what I mean? We all looked up to him. He was the shining light of the third-years, and the MVP in many ways. I’m not sure how pleased to see me he was! I’d still had a year left at drama school, so to see me arrive on his TV series—well, it wasn’t his, but you know what I mean—when he’d put in three whole years of university and me put in two, he was probably like, “Well, hang on a minute! I’ve been working much harder than you. What the f–k are you doing here?” Like I’d gotten one of those Willy Wonka golden tickets to the party. But Fassbender is awesome. I will always have massive respect for him and I love his work. It’s just great to see people who are familiar coming up, doing well, and representing. He’s carving out a really special position in the industry.

On the possibility of playing James Bond: “You know, there’s a saying amongst us in the fraternity of acting, and in the fellowship of my peer group, that if you talk about it you’re automatically out of the race. So I can’t possibly comment on that one! If I mention it, it’s gone. But Chris Nolan, what a fantastic director for a Bond movie. Because Daniel [Craig] is so good, and what [Sam] Mendes and Barbara [Broccoli] have done has been so impressive, that it would be a very hard reimagination to follow after. I wonder what the next installment of that franchise would become, and I think when you mention someone like Christopher Nolan, that’s a very powerful figure to bring into that world who could bring something new and create something profound—again.

Whether he’s buried the hatchet with Charlize Theron: “Yeah, I mean, there are these myths that are usually asininely circulated about things that go on on set that aren’t nearly as dramatic as they’re made out to be. There was no hatchet to bury, for me. I’ve always thought—and I still do think—that Charlize is one of the best actresses in the world and a mega-talent. I think she’s brilliant and I would love to work with her again. So there’s really no hatchet for me to bury at all in any way, shape or form.

[From The Daily Beast]

When Charlize Theron talked about Hardy months removed from the Mad Max shoot, she still made it sound like he was a total pill to work with. They really were butting heads throughout filming, and they were not friendly in the least. So I do think that there was a hatchet to bury, despite what he says now. As for what he says about Fassbender – I already knew part of that story (that they’ve known each from drama school) but it’s nice that he still thinks so highly of Fassy. And Band of Brothers is everything. I still watch that every year, it’s honestly one of the best miniseries ever made.

Last thing: I don’t think Hardy should be James Bond. He’s not, like, Hiddleston-level of bad Bond choices, but I still don’t think Hardy should get the offer.

Photos courtesy of WENN.