Actor Tom Hardy has done his fair share of physically demanding roles, having favored action and superhero films throughout the course of his impressive career thus far. But it seems as though beloved roles in films like Venom, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Dark Knight Rises, and even period thriller The Revenant have taken a serious toll on the actor’s body and wellbeing as he approaches his 50s.
“I’ve had two knee surgeries now, my disc’s herniated in my back, I’ve got sciatica as well,” the 47-year-old Hardy revealed, opening up to Esquire UK about the physical results of being so willing to put his body in harm’s way for action-heavy projects.
“And I have that… is it plantar fasciitis? Where did that come from? And why? Why?! And I pulled my tendon in my hip as well. It’s like, it’s all falling to bits now, and it’s not going to get better.”
Hardy is currently starring in two action-heavy projects, the Paramount+ crime series MobLand and the action film Havoc directed by Gareth Evans. He has several superhero movies on his resume — and he would’ve done more had he been able to secure the Venom and Tom Holland Spider-Man crossover film he once worked hard to try to make happen.
“I loved playing Eddie in Venom,” Hardy explained. “Juggling chainsaws… Put me on a unicycle and throw everything at me! I was just really trying to push myself as much as I could. But I had no Spider-Man! No Avengers! It’s just us. Until those bridges are crossed… That’s way beyond my control. And I’d love to do that, but that’s not even a conversation to have at my level, of just being an actor in that world.”
He first appeared as Venom in the 2018 Sony film of the same name. He reprised the role twice: first in 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage and then in 2024’s Venom: The Last Dance, which was Hardy’s last time officially picking up the suit.
With Venom: The Last Dance settling on a global box office of $478,931,196, you’d think the powers that be at Marvel and Sony would want more from the character. But it appears Sony is focusing on the next Spider-Man film, just announced as Spider-Man: Brand New Day and due out July 2026. It may even introduce Miles Morales into the MCU, something Holland is personally invested in.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
