8 Genius Ways Actors Made Sure You Noticed Them In Movies

If you've ever seen Tom Hardy on the red carpet (or stood next to certain co-stars onscreen), you've probably noticed that he's quite a short guy, at least when compared to the perception that all Hollywood leading men need to be strapping chiselled dudes over six feet tall.

At five feet nine inches, the actor had a bit of trouble squaring up to Christian Bale - who stands at exactly six feet - while shooting The Dark Knight Rises, despite packing on an insane amount of muscle for his role as bald badass Bane. When studio execs requested that he be able to look Batman straight in the eyes during their many showdowns, Hardy used a clever trick that ensured his character would not be swallowed up by Bale's hulking shadow.

While the movie was shooting in mid-2011, it was reported that Hardy had been fitted with specially-made shoes that sported a three-inch height lift, allowing him to match Bale's towering presence.

The evidence of this is onscreen: look at any scene featuring Bane and Batman stood on level ground, and you can see that the two characters stand at almost exactly the same height, despite there being a three-inch gap between the two actors in real life.