Tom Hardy has taken a beating.
The actor, 47, opened up about his many health issues from starring in various action movies in an interview with Esquire published Friday.
“I’ve undergone two knee surgeries, have a herniated disc in my back, and suffer from sciatica,” Hardy explained. “And then there’s that… what is it, plantar fasciitis? How did I get that? And why? Why?!”
“And I pulled my tendon in my hip as well,” he added. “It’s like, it’s all falling to bits now, and it’s not going to get better.”
Hardy has had physical roles in the “Venom” trilogy, “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Mad Mad: Fury Road” which have all taken a toll on his body.
“I’ve been pursuing something in my career, trying to grasp that it’s not leading anywhere,” he remarked. “It just adds up to more and more. Of what? Stomach ulcers? High blood pressure? Your knees are giving out, your hair is thinning, your teeth aren’t straight, and you’re nearing 50.”
“Perhaps it’s an issue of self-esteem, perhaps it’s not finishing school, or perhaps it’s feeling inadequate,” he pondered. “All this ‘I’ll prove it, I’ll prove it’… Prove it to whom? No one cares! I know I’m capable. So why not relax?”
The “Mobland” star also spoke about trying homeopathic treatments such as “tinctures” to help his body. He said he’d consider “stem cells” as well, adding, “I think if it comes down to the wire and it seems the sensible thing to do and I take advice.”
Despite describing himself as “the bottom of the old-man ladder when it comes to characters,” Hardy isn’t ready to retire yet.
“I’ve done a little bit in every single genre that I’ve ever wanted to do, and I’ve played on some big fields, you know?” he said. “I’ve done some stinkers, I’ve done some cool things, I’ve played with some really amazing luminaries and people, I’ve had some really cool opportunities.”
“I’m not retiring myself,” Hardy added, “but I’m just saying, ‘What do you want to do with that?’”
Hardy’s Esquire interview was conducted in March at a busy time for the actor. He finished the press tour for “Venom: The Last Dance” three months earlier, had just completed shooting “Mobland,” and was starting to promote the Paramount+ crime drama series.
“I got dizzy today,” he told the interviewer. “I took a Sudafed and it’s starting to work, so I feel better, but in the interviews I was sitting there, and you know when you feel not right, but you can’t tell someone you don’t feel right? Like, ‘Listen, if I pass out…’”
Later in the interview, Hardy admitted that his success in Hollywood hasn’t been fulfilling in the ways he expected.
“The more I know, the less I know,” he shared. “If becoming a successful actor was climbing Everest, and I got to the summit, it was a false summit. Because there was another climb!”
