'He's crushing skulls and snapping heads off': Tom Hardy on brutal villain Bane in the new Batman film

By Kirsty Mccormack

Last updated at 11:21 AM on 25th November 2011

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It seems that Batman has finally met his match in the form of British actor Tom Hardy.

The 34-year-old has opened up about his highly-anticipated role as Bane in the third installment of the comic book adaptations.

The film star admitted he found it hard at times when shooting physical scenes, but was keen to describe the character down to every last detail.

'Horrible piece of work': Tom Hardy will play villain Bane in the latest Batman film The Dark Knight Rises

'He’s brutal, brutal. He’s expedient delivery of brutality,' Hardy told Empire magazine.

'He’s a big dude who’s incredibly clinical, in the fact that he has a result-based and orientated fighting style. The result is clear.'

But Hardy didn't stop there when it came to explaining the fictional character's violent persona.

'The style is heavy-handed, heavy-footed, it’s nasty,' he added.

'Anything from small joint manipulation to crushing skulls, crushing rib cages, stamping on shins and knees and necks and collarbones and snapping heads off and tearing his fists through chests, ripping out spinal columns. It’s anything he can get away with.'

Battling it out: Hardy (R) was spotted filming a fight scene in Pittsburgh with Christian Bale earlier this year

Hardy was handpicked for the role by director, Christopher Nolan, and it's clear to see why.

The actor is definitely enthusiastic about the role and was even dismissive of the 12 certificate that the film has been given.

'I’m not approaching it with a 12-certificate attitude,' he told the film magazine.

'If we’re going to shoot somebody, shoot the pregnant woman or the old lady first. Make sure everybody stands up. And listens.

'He is a terrorist in his mentality as well as brutal action. So he’s horrible. A really horrible piece of work.

'It’s not about fighting. It’s just about carnage with Bane. He’s a smashing machine. He’s a wrecking ball.'

The main man: Bale is back to play the superhero for a third time in the film due to be released in July 2012

The comic book character was a child born and raised within the walls of a harsh prison in a fictional Caribbean country, Santa Prisca.

Bane was transformed into a fearsome, hulking man-machine via a physique-enhancing intravenous drug called Venom and his most celebrated storyline is Knightfall, in which he snaps Batman’s spine like a dry twig.

'With Bane, we are looking to give Batman a physical challenge that he hasn’t had before,' said Nolan.

'Enormous and powerful': British actor Hardy was Christopher Nolan's first choice to play the scary villain

'With our choice of villain and with our choice of story we’re testing Batman both physically as well as mentally.

'Bane's a great sort of movie monster, but with an incredible brain, and that was a side of him that hadn’t been tapped before.'

Hardy and actor, Christian Bale who plays Batman, were pictured filming a fight scene in Pittsburgh earlier this year which saw Hardy suffer from a wardrobe malfunction when his trousers ripped down the side.

The pair were fighting on the steps of Gotham City Hall amongst many extras dressed as policemen, and this posed a problem for Hardy.

'When you’re training in a rehearsal room you go, "Okay, I have a contact with seven people,"' he said.

'This guy I chin, this one I slip and I punch, this one I pick up and suplex, this guy I kick in the face, and this one, he stops a hammer with his head. And then I meet Batman.

The full interview is in Empire magazine's Batman/Bane special edition

'That’s all alright in a rehearsal room, but then you add 1,000 people that are all dressed the same as the seven you’re supposed to hit - because they’re all police officers — and I don’t know where my police officers are. But the stuntmaster’s like, "Don’t worry. They will find you."'

However Nolan has no regrets about casting Hardy in his third Batman film.

'He’s found a way to play a character who is enormous and powerful with a sort of calm to it, but also is able to be incredibly fast at times. Unpredictable.

'It’s a very powerful thing when you see it come together, beyond what I

had ever imagined. That’s what you get from working with great actors.'

The Dark Knight Rises will be released in UK cinemas on July 20 2012.