20 Things You Somehow Missed In The Dark Knight Rises

Make no mistake about it, when given the time to prepare, Tom Hardy can morph himself into one of the most physically impressive specimens you're ever likely to lay your mortal eyes on; just look at his committed packing on of the pounds and muscles in everything from Warrior to Bronson.

But, despite once again hulking up for his portrayal of the freakishly stacked Bane in this third Nolan Bat-entry, there was one physical aspect of the character Hardy simply could not control alone.

With the British sensation only coming in at 5ft 9" tall, the idea of the League of Shadows figure towering over the rest of his cast mates, in order to represent Batman's biggest physical obstacle to date, had to rely on some movie magic assistance.

In order to get around the fact Hardy was somewhat smaller than the likes of Christian Bale and Morgan Freeman, the actor was given a pair of three-inch lifts whenever donning his Bane get-up. Combine that with a physique capable of striking fear in the hearts of the masses, and Hardy was off to the intense races.