Hollywood star Tom Hardy has quietly been making waves in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community, demonstrating that his combat prowess extends well beyond the silver screen. In 2022, the actor surprised many by competing in BJJ tournaments in Wolverhampton and Milton Keynes, taking home gold medals in both competitions.
The “Venom” star’s dedication to the sport has not gone unnoticed by his opponents. One competitor from Wolverhampton described Hardy as “probably the toughest competitor I’ve ever had — he certainly lived up to his Bane character, that’s for sure.” Meanwhile, organizers in Milton Keynes simply stated he was “a really nice guy.”
For Hardy, competing in BJJ presents a unique kind of challenge that differs significantly from his acting career. “Getting stage fright is s*it. It’s really s*it. But going down the local sports centre to fight some bloke from Southampton or Milton Keynes who you’ve never met before is terrifying! And people are watching, and they’ve got their phones out, and it could be embarrassing. It could end really badly,” Hardy explains to esquire. “Going out on stage you can kind of blag it. People might go, ‘awww’, or ‘booo!’ but it’s not quite the same as someone sitting on you and tying you up like a pretzel.”
Hardy’s journey into BJJ wasn’t initially about competition. “I did the posturing bit of boxing and hitting mitts, and trying to be a bloke,” he recalls. “But ultimately I was sort of scared of blokes, because there’s so many of them, and there’s always one stronger than you. You know, somehow you’re supposed to be able to look after yourself in this wicked world, but in a numbers game it’s not possible to be the strongest. So eventually I was like, ‘Just have a go, who cares who wins.’ And of course I care who wins, but you spend the first couple of years trying to forget it. You’re not winning anything. It’s very humiliating, in the right way.”
Now a purple belt—just two belts away from achieving the coveted black belt—Hardy has fully embraced the lifestyle. When not filming, he trains up to five times a week, compared to just Sundays when his acting schedule is in full swing. He even assists with teaching a children’s class, balancing his Hollywood career with his passion for the martial art.
Hardy plans to concentrate on his BJJ training for the next six months before returning to his “day job” in October for the second season of “MobLand.” Other projects, including potential follow-ups to “Mad Max” and “Taboo,” are currently taking a back seat to his martial arts training.
What keeps Hardy coming back to the mats? He cites the community, physical honesty, and self-examination that BJJ demands. “It’s a submission sport,” he explains. “It’s about stopping your opponent. They submit to defeat, or you choke them, shutting off the carotid artery so the blood doesn’t go to the brain. But once you isolate a limb — an arm or a leg — and put pressure through the joint, and it’s correctly applied, you needn’t go any further. It’s a fait accompli. It’s done. You are done. Only your ego will take you any further.”
This battle with ego parallels Hardy’s broader life philosophy. He speaks of challenging himself to try new things despite the fear of failure: “I genuinely am keen to take on the painful journey of being brave enough to try something new, because I’d like to not look back and say ‘I regret not making the effort to do something that was scary.'”
For now, the BJJ mats provide Hardy with that perfect testing ground—a place where fame offers no advantage and where the only currency is skill, determination, and the willingness to submit both opponents and one’s own ego.
