Tom Hardy’s dedication to his roles makes him one of the most proficient actors to have graced the screen. Known for his extreme physical transformations and innovative mannerisms and speech styles, the Venom alum is acclaimed for encapsulating the essence of the characters he plays. His versatility and adaptability have earned him considerable praise from audiences and critics.
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Regardless of an actor’s skill and talent, some endeavors do not achieve universal acceptance. Occasionally, people’s ambitious efforts can become the subject of humor and incessant parody. With Hardy’s portrayal of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, something of a similar nature was birthed. Although the star’s impeccable physicality and antagonistic depiction were commended, what didn’t quite hit the mark was the character’s voice and accent.
It might astonish you to know what exactly inspired one of the most parodied voices in the history of cinema.
Tom Hardy’s Bane Voice Was Based On Tyson Fury’s Distant Relative
Bane’s voice may be one of the most popular voices movie-going audiences have had the pleasure of imitating. In an interview with WIRED, Tom Hardy, alongside Andy Serkis, tackled the internet’s most frequently searched questions. During this, Hardy disclosed the details of the individual who served as the inspiration for the distinctive accent of the notable antagonist in the Christopher Nolan-helmed pursuit.
“Bane quintessentially is Latinx of origin, and I’m not. So I looked at the concept of Latin and found a character, a gentleman, a man called Bartley Gorman, who’s a Romani gypsy, the King of the Gypsies, in inverted commas, a bare-knuckle fighter and a boxer.”
Interestingly, Bartley Gorman happened to be a distant relative of the two-time heavyweight boxing world champion, Tyson Fury. During his reign, Gorman was quite possibly one of the most widely recognized bare-knuckle fighters of the 20th century. The bare-knuckle boxer asserted that he maintained an unbeaten record until his retirement in 1992. His last fight resulted in a draw.
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The reputation that Gorman had garnered reached far and wide, grabbing the attention of none other than Muhammad Ali. He engaged in sparring with the legendary world champion during the latter’s visit to Birmingham in 1983. The most intriguing aspect of this interaction was that Bartley Gorman happened to be a great admirer of the American pro-boxer.
Therefore, we can infer that a substantial legacy is intertwined with the man who proudly identified as “the King of the Gypsies.”
Whether Bane’s replication of Gorman’s accent was flawless is a matter for audiences to determine. However, what can be confirmed is that Tom Hardy was willing to branch off from a predictable Darth Vader-esque voice, choosing a different route for his portrayal.
Tom Hardy’s Reluctance To Adopt A Darth Vader-Style Voice
Tom Hardy’s decision to base Bane’s voice and accent on Bartley Gorman was a choice that received the green light from the director of the project, Christopher Nolan. During discussions with the filmmaker, Hardy presented two options: either adopting a “neutral-toned” archetypal villainous voice synonymous with Darth Vader or embracing Gorman’s distinctive cadence and enunciation.
Following was the Mad Max: Fury Road alum’s statement on the matter:
“I showed Chris [Nolan] and said: ‘We can either go down a Darth Vader kind of route, straight, neutral-toned villain voice, or we could try this… we’ve got to consider the roots and origins of Bane, but we could get laughed out of the park, it might be something we regret. But it’s your choice ultimately.”
Nolan didn’t seem to have any reservations against the idea and chose to proceed with it. In Hardy’s recollection, the director conveyed the following to him:
“‘No, I think we’ll go with it.’ And that was that. We played with it and made it a bit more fluid, and now people laugh at it!”
Hardy’s acknowledgment of the incessant spoofing of Bane’s voice demonstrates his capacity to take a joke in stride. Even though the antagonist’s accent continues to be a subject of mockery, we can assert that Tom Hardy’s depiction of the character remained nevertheless entertaining and a commendable attempt.
The voice might have been disliked by fans, but it undeniably left a lasting impression.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) is available for streaming on Max.
Source: WIRED
