We’re usually more concerned with what famous actors get up to on the big (or small screen), but every now and again, an actor does something in their personal life that makes us pay attention. Tom Hardy has done just that, by entering, and winning a martial arts tournament recently.
Now, Hardy is well-known for playing some pretty mean guys on screen. If you think of his role as the Batman villain Bane, or the infamous Kray Twins, it’s not hard to imagine that Hardy would be fairly handy in a fight in real life. Then you have his various roles in TV series, such as Peaky Blinders and Taboo, where Hardy also plays some questionable characters.
As reported by The Guardian, Hardy has been putting all that action movie training to good use it seems, after competing in a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament.
Hardy entered the 2022 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open Championship in Milton Keynes under his real name, Edward Hardy, and took home the gold medal.
A spokesperson for the event said, “Everyone recognised him, but he was very humble and was happy to take time out for people to take photographs with him. It was a real pleasure to have him compete at our event.”
Hardy’s opponent in the semi-finals, Danny Appleby said, “I was shell-shocked. [Hardy] said, ‘Just forget it’s me and do what you would normally do.'”
“He’s a really strong guy,” Appleby added. “You wouldn’t think it with him being a celebrity. I’ve done about six tournaments and I’ve been on the podium in every one. But he’s probably the toughest competitor I’ve had — he certainly lived up to his Bane character, that’s for sure.”
After seeing what Hardy is capable of in films like Warrior, the Batman movies, and the 2000s movie Bronson, we would not like to step in to any kind of combat with him, regardless of there being a referee around.