If you thought Oscar-nominated actor Tom Hardy (The Revenant) was intimidating on screen when playing characters like Bane in The Dark Knight Rises or Max Rockatansky in Mad Max: Fury Road, you haven’t seen him show off his athletic abilities on the mat.
Video of the Warrior star recently went viral that features Hardy competing in the 2022 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open Championship in Milton Keynes, England. The actor entered the competition under the radar and under his birth name, Edward Hardy. Imagine stepping onto the mat to see that Venom is your competitor!
“Everyone recognized him, but he was very humble and was happy to take time out for people to take photographs with him,” a spokesperson for the tournament told The Guardian. “It was a real pleasure to have him compete at our event.”
Dressed in a blue gi and stepping onto the mat with confidence, Hardy was captured on video during one of his matches overpowering his opponent and winning the match in about two minutes. Hardy ended the competition winning every one of his bouts.
During his semi-final match, Hardy went up against veteran Danny Appleby, who called Hardy “genuinely a really nice guy” after their match.
“I was shell-shocked,” Appleby said. “[Hardy] said, ‘Just forget it’s me and do what you would normally do.’ 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.”
