10 Best Tom Hardy Performances (So Far)

This hidden gem of Hardy’s filmography came early in his career and is both heart-warming and heart breaking in equal measure.

A Life Backwards tells the true story of Stuart Shorter, a homeless drug addict who strikes up an unlikely friendship with author Alexander Masters and decides to tell him his life story.

Starring alongside another future star in Benedict Cumberbatch, Hardy completely embodies his character, contorting his body to portray Stuart’s muscular dystrophy and tell the haunting tale of his troubled childhood and subsequent mental instability.

Hardy manages to maintain an innocent, child-like quality in Stuart despite playing out a number of disturbing scenes. At times, this is a truly harrowing story, but all involved did a fantastic job of telling it in a sympathetic and touching way.

Made for television in 2007, this film comes long before Tom Hardy became a household name but arguably shows his greatest performance to date.