Last week, we heard that Tom Hardy had been “booted” from Paramount+’s MobLand. Since then, we’ve heard different accounts for why Hardy is at odds with the producers, writers and other actors on the show. One of the most recent stories was that Tom was constantly late and that he would frequently “refuse to come out of his trailer for hours at a time.” Well, Variety has a lengthy new report about all of this. Variety’s sources actually confirm most of the other reports about Tom’s unprofessionalism, his tardiness, his refusal to leave his trailer, and his clashes with various people on the production. But Variety’s sources also say that Tom hasn’t really been fired, and both sides are talking about how to move forward. Sources are also bending over backwards to excuse Tom because he’s a “movie star,” all while blaming the revolving door of MobLand directors for not having the stones to order Tom to stop farting around and be a professional. Some highlights from Variety:

Tom wasn’t fired: Tom Hardy was not fired from “MobLand,” Variety has confirmed. Despite rumors swirling since last week that the actor would not return for a third season, sources confirmed discussions are underway to find a way for Hardy (who plays gangster Harry Da Souza in the Paramount+ show) to come back. “Tom was not fired, the door is not closed for Season 3 and things are being worked through creatively,” a source close to production told Variety.

Guy Ritchie is a fan of Tom: “I’m sure Guy is probably pushing [producer] David Glasser to make it work,” a production source told Variety. “Guy likes working with Tom.”

Did Hardy fall out with co-creators Ronan Bennett & Jez Butterworth? Variety understands the tensions were real, but that Hardy was not officially fired and the trio are currently trying to resolve their creative differences. The cause of the fallout is a combination of factors, including reports of Hardy’s tardiness on set and insistence on re-writing some of the script, multiple sources confirmed to Variety. But insiders note that there is apparently fault on both sides. “He’s difficult, but he’s a movie star,” a second production source said. Others pointed out that the tensions could have been amicably resolved sooner, but the leaks from production “sources” alleging that Hardy has been fired have inflamed the situation, and are causing this drama to drag on.

Script issues: Per sources, Hardy was displeased because Butterworth was delivering scripts late, sometimes just a week before shooting — which clashed with the star’s ability to rehearse (“Tom likes to prepare,” the second source said). Butterworth was also not present on set, meaning he could not deal with script issues as they arose. “The only people [Butterworth] really speaks to is David Glasser,” said the production source. “Very few people on the cast or crew have anything to do with Jez. We never see him.” (The other production source disputed this, saying Hardy has been present on weekly Zoom meetings with Butterworth and Glasser). However, Butterworth’s absence on set proved difficult when Hardy requested the occasional script change. “Often his ideas are very sound,” the source said of Hardy. “And he wants them taken seriously. Jez kind of hasn’t got the time to deal with those notes, so it becomes problematic.”

Tom only behaves like a professional when Guy Ritchie is on set: On the episodes directed by Ritchie, Butterworth’s absence wasn’t as problematic because Ritchie has the authority – and experience – to fix a script on the fly. “Having said that, he doesn’t do it very often,” the second source added. “Jez’s stuff is pretty bloody good.” Butterworth’s absence became more difficult when Ritchie passed the baton to the rotating cast of directors, of which there were three on Season 1… [those directors] also didn’t have much authority over Hardy either. “He’s used to dealing with some of the best directors in the world,” the source said of the actor. “So when he suddenly has a jobbing TV director, he struggles and to a certain extent he can walk all over them because they’re intimidated by him.” Ritchie isn’t intimated by Hardy — and consequently, “he’s better behaved with Guy,” the source said. The duo also have a longstanding relationship, dating back to Ritchie’s 2008 film “RocknRolla,” in which Hardy appeared. Hardy trusts Ritchie to get the shot and make it work in the edit while Ritchie can tell him to “stop fucking about” and Hardy will take it “in good heart,” the source said.

Hardy also doesn’t get along with producer David Glasser. “I think [Hardy] probably personality-wise with struggles with the David Glasser-type of Hollywood producer dynamic,” said the source. “David’s a tough guy. He’s a very fair guy but he’s a tough guy.” Glasser runs a tight ship and effectively lost patience with Hardy’s requests for re-writes as well as the tardiness, which saw Brosnan and Mirren left to wait “for ages” until Hardy arrived on set, according to a third source familiar with Hardy’s conduct in Season 1. “David is not prepared to be held to ransom by an actor, even if it’s the leading actor. He has a track record for dealing with this kind of stuff,” the second source said.

How Helen Mirren felt: While Hardy’s lateness was “frustrating” for Mirren and Brosnan – “any actor is frustrated when they’re made to wait a couple of hours,” the second source said – there was specifically no friction between Mirren and Hardy. “I know she’s said to him a couple of times, ‘Come on Tom, we’ve been here for ages, let’s get on with it,’ but she’s never appeared to be anti-Tom,” the source said. They dismissed any suggestion that the actors have fallen out over politics. “I’ve never heard of anything political,” the source said, sounding surprised by the suggestion. “I think that’s probably wildly unhelpful and untrue.”

[From Variety]

I’ve noticed some Hardy apologists in the comments, claiming that all of the previous stories were part of some kind of smear campaign against him. But this piece clearly has pro-Tom sources justifying his terrible behavior, and even they can’t sugarcoat the fact that most of the stories about Tom are true. “He’s difficult, but he’s a movie star” – then why isn’t he still working consistently in movies? Is it because his unprofessional behavior has gotten Tom blacklisted from a lot of studios? “He’s used to dealing with some of the best directors in the world” – so because Tom isn’t working with Christopher Nolan every year, he gets to treat television directors like trash? He gets to pout in his trailer for hours because they won’t let him rewrite scripts? It sounds like Guy Ritchie is the only one fighting for Tom and everyone else is pretty much over it. They’re probably walking on eggshells because they need him to do some post-production work (probably voiceovers and the like) on Season 2, and after they get him to fulfill his contract, he’s out.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.