Inside Tom Hardy’s ‘brutal’ past from being expelled from private school for stealing to going ‘entirely off the rails’ with a crack cocaine addiction – as actor is fired from MobLand

Tom Hardy has carved out a reputation as one of the most compelling actors of his generation.

 

From his early breakthrough in Inception to his Academy Award-nominated performance in The Revenant, the actor, 48, has consistently delivered box office hits.

Despite being a Hollywood hunk, Tom’s early years were marred by brushes with the law and a growing dependence on alcohol and drugs.

 

‘I went entirely off the rails, and I’m lucky I didn’t have some terrible accident or end up in prison or dead because that’s where I was going,’ he previously told Hello.

 

Here, the Daily Mail takes a look at Tom’s ‘brutal’ past.

For a man from a background he describes as ‘painfully middle-class’, Tom has quite a colourful history.

 

He was born in East Sheen, south-west London, and was the only child of Cambridge-educated comedy and novel writer Edward Hardy and his artist wife Anne. The actor said the house was full of books and music, with plenty of gifts and holidays abroad – as well as an expensive private education.

 

‘I grew up used to having lots of attention from my mother,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘There was only one problem. I was a bit of a naughty boy when I was young. No, let me correct that: I was a lot of a naughty boy!’

 

When he was 11, he was warned by a policeman who visited his school about the dangers of sniffing glue.

His reaction, he says now, was to think: ‘Bang – I know where to find that now!’

 

Tom started drinking and quickly became addicted to alcohol and crack cocaine by the time he was 13.

 

A couple of years later, he was expelled from his boarding school, Reed’s, in Surrey, for stealing.

 

By the age of 16, Tom was a mess of alcohol and cocaine. He was continually in trouble with the police and was even arrested for joyriding.

So badly affected was he that he once reportedly said: ‘I would have sold my mother for a rock of crack.’

 

His drinking and drug-taking contributed to the breakdown of his marriage to Sarah Ward.

 

The addiction continued to plague him and it came to a head in 2003 when he was found lying in a pool of blood and vomit in Soho, central London, after he collapsed from a crack cocaine binge.

 

‘I had to lose something,’ he told Hello! ‘Sometimes you have to lose something that is worth more to you than your drinking.’

With his parents’ help he checked himself into rehab and underwent a course of psychotherapy.

 

Once he was clean and sober, he landed a number of television and film roles and founded his own repertory company called Shotgun Theatre.

 

He told The Telegraph at the time: ‘I wanted my dad to be proud of me, and I fell into acting because there wasn’t anything else I could do, and in it I found a discipline that I wanted to keep coming back to, that I love and I learn about every day.’

 

Tom has since received a number of major accolades including a BAFTA Rising Star Award and an Oscar nomination, as well as being made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

 

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However, he was reportedly fired from MobLand ‘after enraging co-star Helen Mirren’ with his ‘arrogant on-set behaviour’.

 

On Friday it was reported that the actor, who plays the role of fixer Harry Da Souza alongside Pierce Brosnan and Dame Helen, would not be returning for the upcoming third season following a number of clashes with producers.

 

Prior to news of his dismissal, the Daily Mail’s Katie Hind revealed Dame Helen, 80, who plays Maeve Harrigan in the Paramount+ crime drama series, was less than pleased with Tom’s attitude on-set, claiming he ‘swaggers around like a king’.

 

Following the news of his dismissal, a source close to the MobLand project claimed Tom was late and had pushed to change lines during filming. He also apparently offered notes on the script without being asked.

 

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One source claimed that he was frustrated that the series was becoming more about his co-stars Helen and Pierce while tensions with producer Jez Butterworth apparently led to threats from Jez to quit himself.

 

Helen’s frustrations echo those of Charlize Theron, with whom Tom had an almighty fall-out while shooting Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015.

 

The actor’s lateness and attitude led to a screaming match and the South African star refusing to be alone with the star.

 

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The actor’s reported sacking from MobLand, which also stars Pierce Brosnan, comes after he allegedly enraged his co-star Dame Helen Mirren with his on-set behaviour

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The actor’s reported sacking from MobLand, which also stars Pierce Brosnan, comes after he allegedly enraged his co-star Dame Helen Mirren with his on-set behaviour

Will YOU still watch MobLand if Tom Hardy leaves?

 

Yes, the cast is strong enough without him

No, Tom Hardy is the main reason I watch

I’ll give it a chance, but it won’t feel the same

Tom’s dismissal from MobLand was first reported in The Puck newsletter, with claims reading: ‘I’m told Paramount recently opted not to pick up Hardy for season three.’

 

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The report blamed ‘clashes with producers Jez Butterworth and David Glasser, among others, during the recent production of season two’.

 

The Puck newsletter, written by former editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter Matthew Belloni, claims producers could not continue to deal with Tom’s alleged behaviour.

 

The Daily Mail has contacted Tom’s representative for comment.

 

The report follows comments about Dame Helen’s rage at the star’s behaviour – even coming down to him being found playing games on his phone while he was expected to be elsewhere.

 

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Sources told The Mail on Sunday that she was becoming frustrated with Tom’s attitude on set, leading to her struggling with working closely with him after they came together to make the second series in November.

 

An insider said: ‘Tom’s character is charming. He’s the calm one but it is quite the opposite when the cameras stop. Dame Helen is a joy, she is a total pro and she has worked with so many people over the years.

 

Sources previously told The Mail on Sunday that Dame Helen was becoming frustrated with Tom’s attitude on-set

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Sources previously told The Mail on Sunday that Dame Helen was becoming frustrated with Tom’s attitude on-set

The actor also fought with co-star Charlize Theron on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015 and the pair engaged in a screaming match over his lateness

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The actor also fought with co-star Charlize Theron on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015 and the pair engaged in a screaming match over his lateness

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‘But she is getting increasingly frustrated with Tom and his attitude. He can be late to filming too and that is annoying for Dame Helen, who is extremely professional and disciplined. His tone is something Dame Helen doesn’t like, along with his lateness.

 

‘She expects better. She holds people to a high standard. She’s 80. She’s been there and seen it all.

 

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‘The behind-the-scenes crew watch it all and believe that she no longer looks as happy working on scenes with him. It has all become quite personal between them.

 

‘It feels like Tom is winding her up. There is much chatter that he swaggers around like he’s the king. He is very, very arrogant. It’s a fantastic show and everyone loves working on it. It’s such a shame there is this undertone.’

 

Another source says Tom, who is married to Peaky Blinders actress Charlotte Riley, 44, has a tendency to get angry behind the scenes.

 

It was previously claimed Tom was set to take a sabbatical after filming finished on MobLand, due to ‘needing to have a rest’.

 

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He told Esquire UK: ‘I’ve had two knee surgeries now, my disc’s herniated in my back. I’ve got sciatica as well. 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 all falling to bits now, and it’s not going to get better.’

 

In 2022 Tom responded to reports that Charlize felt threatened by his behaviour on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road.

 

The pair worked together on the film but had such an explosive relationship on-set that they were often involved in intense shouting matches, with Charlize calling Tom a ‘f***ing c***’ after he made her wait on set for hours.

 

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Charlize also had a female producer be with her at all times as ‘protection’ as she was ‘scared s***less’ by ‘aggressive’ Tom, according to Kyle Buchanan’s book Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road.

 

Addressing the tension, Tom admitted to Kyle: ‘In hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways. The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times.

 

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‘What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced partner in me. That’s something that can’t be faked. I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.’

 

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