Before "The Dark Knight Rises," "Inception," "Warrior," "Bronson" and "Rocknrolla," Tom Hardy was at best, a blip on the radar. He was primarily known in his native U.K., but even then, was hardly the star he is now. And indeed, even before all that, the theater actor scored one of biggest opportunities of his early career, the villain role of Praetor Shinzon in "Star Trek: Nemesis." And now, thanks to the interwebs, we can see the talent that helped land him the gig.
Making the rounds is pretty impressive six minute video that cuts together Hardy's screen test with Patrick Stewart with the finished scenes in the film, showing a pretty confident and talented young actor, more than holding his own. The line readings, a bit embellished from time to time, nonetheless show Hardy had the goods even as a young lad. That's all we'll say about it, so just watch below. And as a bonus, after that you can watch a vid of Hardy dropping some verses from KRS-One's "Hip Hop Vs. Rap" with his son Louis strapped to his chest. Can someone please combine these talents into a baddie role that will require Hardy to drop some freestyle jams? Hardy wins all the awards today. [VH1]
