Although calling Ledger's performance as The Joker 'brilliant,' Hardy doesn't want to be compared to the late actor as claiming, 'I'm not trying to be better than somebody else.'
- May 28, 2012
AceShowbiz - Tom Hardy recently discussed his role as Bane in "The Dark Knight Rises" which often gets compared to Heath Ledger's critically acclaimed performance as The Joker in 2008's "The Dark Knight". Praising Ledger as "brilliant," Hardy admitted that he never sees the late Australian actor as a competitor when it comes to who's the best in portraying Batman's archenemy.
"No, I don't think absolutely," he told Collider when asked if he has any apprehension for being the guy that would follow Ledger's Joker. "That would be putting myself in a competition with somebody who's clearly brilliant. And it's not a question of whose talent is greater or whose work is greater."
The British actor continued, "It's just trying to be the best that we can be, rather then trying to be better than somebody else. I'm not trying to be better than somebody else." He insisted, "What he did was amazing. That's that. I've got a part I've got to play, and I want to play my part."
The Heath Ledger comparison aside, Hardy recalled the moment when he was first cast as Bane. The 34-year-old actor admitted that he wasn't really familiar with the character at that time. "I had no immediate knowledge of the world of Batman at all. I'm quite incubated," he opened up.
Hardy confessed that he first started to learn about Bane after he won the coveted role. "I just keep myself and my dog. He's not with me anymore. And if something comes in, it's always a neat experience. So I started when I first got the part," he said.
On having to wear Bane's costume, Hardy shared, "Hot. It's very, very, very hot. Yeah. We're all getting very hot." He said, "You think about the lads that are out in Afghanistan and Baghdad, and you think about the kit they have to wear, well then it's actually not that bad, is it? But it is hot. It's hard to breathe."
Slated for a July 20 release in the United States, "The Dark Knight Rises" will see Bane arriving in Gotham City and forcing Batman to resurface after taking the fall for Harvey Dent's crimes. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the highly anticipated film also stars Christian Bale as Batman, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon.
