Tom Hardy talks in the third-person to Esquire, also thinks Prince Harry is a ‘legend’

Tom Hardy covers the September issue of Esquire. It was supposed to be a fairly even bro-interview about riding motorcycles around Tom’s old stomping ground. Part of the interview got derailed because as Tom and the Esquire journalist were riding around, they encountered an injured woman, and it was the mum of one of Tom’s oldest friends. Tom turned into a hero, helping the lady get to the hospital, getting all of her tests sorted and helping out his buddy. In between all of that, Tom did answer some questions too. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

Why he attended Prince Harry & Meghan’s wedding: All he’ll say about why they landed the coveted invite is that “it’s deeply private” and “Harry is a f–king legend.”

Doing a superhero movie with Sony: “If the odds are stacked against Sony, that’s not my f–king business. It’s irrelevant.” He burnishes an image of himself as a creative lone wolf, and in the third person no less: “Tom is very mercenary when it comes to work. I cannot give a f–k what the writer, or the director, or Larry in Baltimore thinks about my choices.”

Why he sometimes speaks in the third-person: “Sometimes I talk in the third person because it’s a lot easier to see myself at work as a piece of meat. So when Tommy says he doesn’t give a f–k what you think, it’s only because I give too much of a f–k, and it gets to a point where it stifles me.”

He signed on to a Parachute Regiment training course—but never followed through. “Oh, mate, I did so much backpedaling. The reality is that where I belonged was not there. The last person defending the realm was Mr. Hardy.” He calls the decision to back out “one of my biggest regrets. I wonder what life would’ve been like. I would’ve loved to have served and been useful.”

He became sober in 2003: A 12-step program was “my first port of call…It was hard enough for me to say, ‘I’m an alcoholic.’ But staying stopped is f–king hard.”

Don’t take photos of his kids: “I will pose for you, and photos of me and my wife are fine. But if someone takes a photo of my kids, all bets are off. I will take the camera off you and beat the f–king sh-t out of you.. That’s the one that hurts. My kids didn’t ask for what my job is. There’s something that really upsets me about the imposition of a grown-up world on a child.”

[From Esquire]

Talking in the third person will always seem strange to me and sound “off.” It’s something that the Kellan Lutzes of the world do, not the Tom Hardys. I understand what he’s saying about trying to create some distance because he cares too much, but surely there’s a better way that declaring “Tom Hardy says that Tom DGAF.” And I really need him to tell me how he and Prince Harry know each other.

I didn’t even include the nicest little interlude, where they encounter a father and his small (under 3-years-old) son, and Tom gently asks the boy if he’d like to sit on his motorcycle. The boy is too shy and Tom immediately sees that, so he gently says goodbye to the kid politely. It was very cute.

Covers courtesy of Esquire’s Instagram.

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25 Responses to “Tom Hardy talks in the third-person to Esquire, also thinks Prince Harry is a ‘legend’”

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  1. Melania says:

    So Tom Hardy is a Harry-Meghan shipper. It’s one of us!

  2. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    Okay that’s ridiculous.

  3. Chaine says:

    Terrible cover photo. All squinty looking like a drunk that fell into a swamp. was it taken by Brooklyn Beckham?

  4. Lightpurple says:

    SIXER! Where are you, Sixer! The Bloke talks about himself in the third person! Sixer!

    Hardy has played polo with the Windsors. That’s why Sixer threw him off her list.

  5. Lala11_7 says:

    Lala…ADORES Tom…

    Lala thinks TOM IS ONE OF THE COOLEST THINGS SHE’S EVER SEEN!

    Lala thinks Tom was ROBBED by the Academy Award for his performance in the movie “The Drop”…

    Lala APPROVES of this interview…as Lala APPROVES of EVERYTHING Tom has done…

    • Skylark says:

      Skylark approves of Lala’s taste in top blokes. Skylark also adores Tom and Skylark can find nothing to quibble with in Lala’s assessment of Tom.

      Skylark also loves what Tom says about people keeping their lenses off and away from his kids.

      • Lala11_7 says:

        Lala has a long running THING for Blokes…Lala’s man knows that the ONLY way that he would have an issue with Lala…is if Lala EVA met Tom/Clive/Daniel/Idiris…

        Lala will probably NEVA get to go to England…LOL!!!!

      • Skylark says:

        Skylark has met Tom on numerous occasions and can tell Lala that Tom is very hands on (and generous) with the causes he champions. And very decent and not remotely pretentious or ‘third person’ in person.

        Skylark really hopes that Lala gets to meet him some day. 🙂

    • Happy21 says:

      Happy 21 agrees on all points. ESPECIALLY about The Drop!

  6. Tara Beth says:

    P R E T E N T I O U S

  7. Michael says:

    A legend? For what?

  8. Slowsnow says:

    He may sound like a twat half of the time but what he says about celeb kids is spot on.

  9. Dara says:

    Doesn’t his macho posturing and DGAF bluster just sound like a masquerade to distract everyone from seeing that he has feelings and emotions? Almost as if he’d rather be seen as a rough around the edges prick instead of the educated and artistic posh boy he actually is. Phooey on the whole real men don’t cry nonsense.

  10. Lisa says:

    Douchey.

  11. magnoliarose says:

    Sigh. I used to have a little thing for Tom Hardy. I like men with swagger, loads of confidence and huge personalities that have nftg but Tom kinda started veering into I think he is an ass territory so I went off him. When men do that I start thinking he may just be a sexist. I didn’t even mind he is shorter than me and that is an extremely rare thing. I woulda worn flats for him for LIFE. Oh well, we were never meant to be. *stares misty eyed into the distance*.

    I do understand performers who sometimes refer to themselves in 3rd person. Sometimes. Not all the time. They are the product and to get some distance from that and not become what they are selling they have to find some separation to keep their lives balanced. I said it once before I learned to look at images of me as not me because it wasn’t really. When I was young I was very hypercritical and saw every flaw magnified a thousand times and would feel weirdly embarrassed and exposed. My self esteem would hit rock bottom and I would get depressed. That is on a much smaller scale than what someone like him must experience every day.
    I guess Tom Hardy calling himself Tom Hardy helps him avoid that negative mind space trap.

    However, Kellan Lutz’s constant doing it seemed more like an affectation.

  12. Sage says:

    I like Tom. I like his acting and most of his movies. I will never forget his MySpace and imdb postings..lol.

  13. derpshooter says:

    Do TeEnS dEsIgN tHe CoVeRs FoR eSqUiRe NoW?

    ugh.

    • Dave says:

      No darling; that’s one of the best fotographers i know: Greg Williams. He’s a close friend of Tom.

  14. laura-j says:

    I love him.

    Check out the ceebeebees tom hardy reading children’s stories with his lovely dog.

    So gruff and grumpy, just like I like my movie stars, but with a soft side the way I like real men.

    Plus he is so so handsome.

  15. SJhere says:

    Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy are spectacular in Peaky Blinders.
    The acting, the plot, the beauty of Murphy and Hardy all great! Netflix it, people. You won’t regret it.