For what seems like forever, Tom Hardy has been delivering incredible performances in a number of roles. He turns 40 today, although given his prevalence over the last 15 years or so, it feels like he's a lot older.
His roles have included being part of Daniel Craig's cocaine operation in Layer Cake, both of the Kray twins in Legend, portraying Charles Bronson, and playing a heroic spitfire pilot in Dunkirk. However, his most defining role may be Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, although it was one that didn't come without consequences.
And, let's be honest, he was easily the coolest character in the film, wasn't he?
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His most defining feature was that scary mask which was made synonymous with the comic book, but his huge muscles were a close second.
Critics were talking about his voice (go on, read this article in it), but everyone else was staring at his guns. And that's because Tom Hardy put on a whopping 42 pounds of muscle and fat in three short months for the role.
Credit: Warner Bros. / The Dark Knight Rises
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Talking to The Daily Beast, he revealed that in his next film, Fonzo, he's playing Al Capone in prison but this time it's a different kind of transformation.
"Al Capone was 40-something when he passed away, so he wasn't that far off my age anyway," said the Taboo star. "And he'd lost a lot of weight before he passed because he was suffering from Syphilis and deteriorating. It's not the classic Al Capone that you necessarily envision with the silhouette.
"I don't know if it's as drastic as Bane. I've probably damaged my body too much. I'm only little," the 5 foot 9 inches actor exclaimed. "If I keep putting on weight I'll collapse like a house of cards under too much pressure."
"To go from one extreme to another has a cost," he admitted. "I'm certainly a bit achier than I used to be! I kind of miss it. Compared to Christian Bale I've been by no means extreme in my body changes, but for what little I've done, yeah, I certainly have joints that click that probably shouldn't click, you know what I mean? And carrying my children is a little bit harder than it used to be - but don't tell them!"
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Movie star body transformations...
Here are a few other intense body transformations that actors have put themselves through.
Christian Bale is the king of body transformations. He went from losing an huge amount of weight for the insomniac in The Machinist to bulking up in a few short months for Batman Begins.
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Bale in The Machinist. Credit: Paramount Pictures
Another one who lost a lot of weight for a role is Irish actor Michael Fassender. For his breakout role as human rights activist Bobby Shands who went on a hunger strike, he lost 42 pounds and lived off berries and nuts.
Credit: Icon
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In Monster, actor Charlize Theron put on weight and changed her appearance. The former model was playing a real life serial killer and ditched her usual glamour - and ended up winning an Oscar.
Credit: Newmarket Films
And of course there's Renee Zellweger. She piled on the pounds to play British singleton Bridget Jones in Bridget Jones' Diary. She then lost it again after the movie then piled on even more for the sequel. Her secret? Doughnuts. For the third film, she didn't bother gaining any weight.
Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros. / Dark Knight Rises