Tom Hardy | Lead Actor, Creator, Executive Producer | Taboo on FX

Tom Hardy

Lead Actor / Creator / Executive Producer

Tom Hardy is the creator of Taboo along with his father Chips Hardy and Steven Knight. Hardy is also the lead actor and Executive Producer. Taboo is produced by Scott Free and Hardy Son & Baker for FX Networks.

As an Academy Award® nominated actor and producer, Tom Hardy has quickly become one of today’s most versatile and sought after talents, earning widespread acclaim and recognition over the years from critics and audiences alike for his transformative performances and extensive range across a variety of mediums, including film, television and theatre.

Last year, Hardy starred in three highly acclaimed films, two of which went on to earn ‘Best Picture’ nominations at the 2016 Academy Awards. Starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s epic drama The Revenant (2015), Hardy earned his first Oscar® nomination for his performance as 19th century frontiersman “John Fitzgerald.” That same year, Hardy also played the highly anticipated title role in George Miller’s critically acclaimed summer blockbuster hit Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), as well as tackling dual roles of notorious twin gangsters “Ronald” and “Reginald Kray” in Brian Helgeland’s crime drama Legend (2015). The latter earned Hardy ‘Best Actor of the Year’ at the British Independent Film Awards, and the film went on to become the highest-grossing 18 cert British film of all time in the UK. The London Critics’ Circle also honored Hardy with their prestigious ‘British Actor of the Year’ on behalf of all his performances in 2015.

Hardy will next be seen in Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming war drama Dunkirk (2017), which will be his third collaboration with the director.

In addition to performing, Hardy is also the Founder and CEO of U.K. production company Hardy Son & Baker, which he formed in 2012 with partner Dean Baker. HSB most recently partnered with Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Films to produce the forthcoming drama series Taboo, which will debut in early 2017 on BBC in the U.K. and FX in the U.S. The company’s feature projects in development include the highly anticipated screen adaptation of comic series 100 Bullets for Warner Bros/New Line; an Untitled Shackleton Project, based on the renowned British explorer Ernest Shackleton who led multiple expeditions to the Antarctic; and an Untitled Don McCullin Project, based on the life of the legendary British war photographer. On the television front, HSB has several new scripted series for NBCUniversal International in development, including screen adaptations of Adam Hamdy’s crime thriller Pendulum, as well as Warren Ellis and Jason Howard’s science-fiction graphic novel series Trees.

Hailing from Great Britain, Hardy was studying at the prestigious Drama Centre London when he was offered his breakout role in HBO’s award-winning World War II miniseries Band of Brothers, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. His feature film debut came shortly after when he was cast in Ridley Scott’s war drama Black Hawk Down (2001), followed by Stuart Baird’s sci-fi adventure Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

In 2008, Hardy garnered global attention for his captivating on-screen transformation as a real-life, notoriously violent convict in the title role of Nicolas Winding Refn’s drama Bronson, winning the British Independent Film Award for ‘Best Actor’ on behalf of his performance. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts further recognized Hardy’s achievements by honoring him with their ‘Rising Star Award’ in 2011. The actor’s subsequent film credits went on to include lauded roles in Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2010) and The Dark Night Rises (2012), Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Gavin O’Connor’s Warrior (2011), John Hillcoat’s Lawless (2012), Steven Knight’s Locke (2013), and Michaël R. Roskam’s The Drop (2014).

On television, Hardy currently appears in a recurring role on the award-winning BBC series Peaky Blinders. In 2008, Hardy earned a ‘Best Actor’ BAFTA nomination for his performance in the HBO movie Stuart: A Life Backwards, and portrayed “Heathcliff” in the 2009 ITV production of Wuthering Heights. His small screen credits also include the telefilms Oliver Twist, A for Andromeda, Sweeney Todd, Gideon’s Daughter, and Colditz, as well as the BBC miniseries The Virgin Queen.

On stage, Hardy has starred in numerous plays on the London West End, including Blood and In Arabia We’d All Be Kings, winning the ‘Outstanding Newcomer Award’ at the 2003 Evening Standard Theatre Awards for his work in both productions and a 2004 Olivier Award nomination for the latter. In 2005, Hardy starred in the London premiere of Brett C. Leonard’s Roger and Vanessa. His stage work also includes Rufus Norris’ adaptation of Festen at the Almeida; The Modernists at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre; The Man of Mode at the National Theatre; and the 2010 world premiere of Leonard’s The Long Red Road, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.

Hardy also serves as an Ambassador for The Prince's Trust, the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund (RMCTF), and Help For Heroes.

Steven Knight

Creator / Executive Producer / Writer