Tom Hardy’s recurring role asAlfie Solomons onPeaky Blindersis one of the highlights of the show, but he gave perhaps his best performance teaming with the show’s creator inLocke. Hardy was already proving himself one of the most dynamic actors in Hollywood when he was cast in the lead role inLocke. The small movie is a riveting drama following a determined family man and businessman on his way to deal with a personal obligation that will shatter the life he has built.
It wasn’t until after the release ofLockethat director Steven Knight added Hardy to thecast ofPeaky Blindersas Alfie. The Jewish gang leader was introduced in season 2 of the British crime series, serving as an unreliable ally or dangerous enemy toTommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy). Hardy is electrifying in the role, but as different as Alfie is from Hardy’s titular character inLocke, this collaboration between Hardy and Knight is a must-see for fans of the actor.
Tom Hardy’s Performance In Locke Is Brilliant (& Unique)
Hardy Commands The Movie As The Only Actor On Screen
Aside fromTom Hardy’s performancein the lead role,Lockeactually boasts a very strong cast, including Tom Holland, Andrew Scott, and Olivia Colman, all before they had become big names in their own right. However, they all only appear in the movie as voice roles, asHardy is the only actor who appears on screen for the entire runtime ofLocke. It is a boldmovie with a single setting, staying in the car as Hardy’s Locke drives to be with a woman he impregnated during an affair, as she gives birth.
What makes Hardy’s performance inLockeall the more impressive is how reserved he is the entire time.
Throughout the movie,Locketalks to various people on the phone, from the woman to his family to his work colleagues, yet we never leave the car or Hardy.It is not a lot of actors who can command the screen on their own for an entire movie, with the likes of Tom Hanks inCast Awayand Sandra Bullock inGravitypulling off similarly daunting tasks. What makes Hardy’s performance inLockeall the more impressive is how reserved he is the entire time.
You might expect a big performance to keep the audience’s attention, but Hardy internalizes so much of the character while making him so layered. Throughout his drive, Locke deals with helping solve a work crisis left in his absence, calming the nerves of the woman he barely knows who is about to give birth to his child, and confessing his wrongdoing to his family.Despite him being in a devastating situation of his own making, Hardy makes Locke compelling and endearing as a man who is determined beyond anything to do the right thing and take responsibility for his actions.
He barely ever raises his voice and belies none of the stress that he is no doubt feeling throughout the drive. However,Hardy somehow makes the audience understand his pain as well as his reasoning for doing it the way that he is. It at first comes off as a somewhat emotionless man, but gradually becomes a performance as a man who knows there is no taking back what he did, and he is simply going to face the consequences.
Tom Hardy & Steven Knight Also Teamed Up For Another TV Show
Taboo Premiered In 2017
Tom Hardy and Steven Knight clearly enjoy working together, because they collaborated on a third project more recently.Taboois a show perfect forPeaky Blindersfans, particularly those who love Hardy’s work on the series. Another period story, this time taking place in the early 1800s,Taboostars Hardy as James Delaney, a man thought dead who returns to London after years of living in Africa. Looking to take over his father’s shipping business, Delaney finds himself surrounded by enemies and out for revenge.
The series is another great example of Hardy’s amazing screen presence as his character of Delaney is fairly similar to Alfie onPeaky Blinders. Both are dangerous and eccentric characters who go through the world with their own sets of rules, intimidating just about anyone they cross paths with. However,despite premiering its first season in 2017 and getting renewed,Tabooseason 2 has yet to arrive. The first season left the story with a lot more to be explored, and it is a role many fans are eager to see Hardy return to.
Is Tom Hardy Returning For The Peaky Blinders Movie?
Cillian Murphy Returns As Tommy Shelby
WhilePeaky Blindersended following its sixth season, there is still a chance that we could see Tom Hardy’s Alfie again. TheupcomingPeaky Blindersmoviehas already been confirmed to continue the story of Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby. There are also a number of exciting new additions to the cast, including Rebecca Ferguson, Barry Keoghan, and Tim Roth. However,when it comes to Hardy’s return, there hasn’t been any confirmationas of yet. When Hardy addressed thePeaky Blindersmovie and whether Alfie would appear, he said:
“100%. Alfie will definitely make an appearance, but I don’t know when… and I don’t even know if he will, that’s just me punting.”
Given the close collaborative relationship Hardy and Steven Knight have had, betweenLocke,Peaky Blinders, andTaboo, it seems unlikely that he hasn’t discussed returning for the movie. Hardy clearly seems ready to return, and with Alfie being perhaps the most popular character on the show, it seems like a safe bet that Alfie will make his return for the new cinematic story.
