From ‘Bikeriders’ to Bane: The Best Tom Hardy Voices, Ranked

Tom Hardy is a man of many great talents, but one rises above the rest: his ability to create memorable voices. The Oscar-nominated actor has done a bit of everything in his career, whether it be superhero movies, rom-coms or biopics, and, without fail, he always manages to put on a different voice with each performance.

He makes so many wild choices that people often joke that they don't even know what the real Hardy sounds like. Well, as someone who once interviewed him, I'll share that it was the hardest interview to transcribe in my entire journalism career.

But Mr. Reliable has done it again! The trailer for writer-director Jeff Nichols' hotly-anticipated motorcycle drama The Bikeriders dropped, and there's plenty to be excited about, including this being Austin Butler's Elvis followup, Jodie Comer putting herself in the Oscar race and a cast full of dude's dudes (Michael Shannon! Boyd Holbrook!! Norman Reedus!!!). And yet, it's Hardy and whatever accent he's going for that has the internet buzzing.

So, in celebration of Bikeriders (opening Dec. 1), here's our ranking of the top 5 Hardy voices in film and TV. (Honorable mention goes to his Alfie Solomons in Peaky Blinders and his Platoon-inspired accent in The Revenant.)

5. James Delaney in Taboo

Co-created by Hardy and his perfectly-named father, Chips Hardy, the FX historical drama stars Hardy as James Delaney, a 19th-century adventurer and businessman who returns home to England after 12 years in Africa. Hardy delivers maybe the strangest performance and character of his career, and that's exactly why Taboo became a fascinating watch, so much so that fans are still eagerly awaiting a second season six years after it debuted. But don't worry, we Taboo-heads have passed the time by watching the below compilation video of Hardy's go-to move for Delaney: grunting.

4. Eddie Brock and Venom in Venom

The best part about Hardy and his dual work in Venom is that it's easier to picture him as an alien symbiote than an investigative journalist from New York. Can't you just picture the deleted scene of Hardy going, "Hey, come on, it's me, Eddie Brock, I'm walkin' here!"

3. Ronald and Reginald Kray in Legend

Sticking with the dual-performance theme, Hardy stars in this biographical crime thriller as gangster twin brothers Ronald and Reginald Kray. As always, he's incredibly watchable throughout, single-handedly elevating the material above the stereotypical genre fare. Some actors might settle for glasses to serve as the sole feature distinguishing their identical characters, but not Hardy; he brings distinctively different British accents to the Krays.

2. Bane in The Dark Knight Rises

When reflecting on the final film of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Actually, what's the only thing that comes to mind? Yes, you don't have permission to think about anything but Hardy's Bane voice. More than a decade later, we're still doing our own Bane impressions, and Nolan should be thrilled because the Bane legacy has allowed us to ignore what was a bit of a disappointing swan song. You could even say that Hardy's voice work is Rises' knight in shining armor.

1. Johnny in The Bikeriders

Recency bias? Maybe. An upset? Surely. The right choice? Based on the above two minutes, absolutely! I like to imagine that Hardy, knowing he's the best and wildest there is, started to feel complacent with his voice work — and then a worthy challenger emerged: No. 1 Elvis Presley impersonator, Austin Butler. Having watched Butler continue speaking like Elvis well after the Oscar-nominated biopic was released, Hardy knew he had to rise to a new level when put opposite this raspy up-and-comer. And boy, did he show Butler who the true king is. Oh, and Jodie Comer, trust that we see you coming for the female voice champion crown!