English-born actor Tom Hardy, who is the title character in the upcoming sequel Mad Max: Fury Road, admitted in a recent interview his drug problem was once so out-of-hand, he would have sold his own mother for crack cocaine.
“I am f—g lucky to be here,” the 37-year-old told Essentials magazine about his old drug problem, reports Yahoo New Zealand.
Hardy’s career started with a minor role in two episodes of HBO’s Second World War drama Band of Brothers in 2001, but he soon found acclaim for his acting range, and became known as a Hollywood tough guy.
With roles in Black Hawk Down and Star Trek: Nemesis, the actor eventually climbed to the top of superstardom with major parts in Lawless and The Dark Knight Rises, but not before becoming what he described as a “suburban statistic.”
Hardy revealed during his interview that he abused drugs and alcohol in his 20s, but has been sober since 2003.
While recalling his struggles with addiction, the actor clearly remembers being told to stay away from drugs.
“I was a shameful suburban statistic,” Hardy said. “I was told very clearly, ‘You go down that road, Tom, you won’t come back. That’s it. All you need to know… that message stayed with me clearly for the rest of my days,” he said.
While known for playing strong, and sometimes violent and stoic characters, Hardy insisted he is nothing like Bane or Forrest Bondurant.
“People didn’t sit up and take any notice of me until I Started putting on weight, kicking people and being aggressive,” Hardy told the mag. “I’m not a fighter. I’m a petite little bourgeois boy from London.”
He also stated of his one-time desperation to fuel his cocaine habit: “I would have sold my mother for a rock of crack.”
A clean and sober Tom Hardy has taken over for Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky, and stars in Fury Road, which debuts Friday.
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