“I love people. People are lovely creatures. I’m one myself, so I love to see people happy.”

I like to be other people, not me. And when you’re on the red carpet, it’s like, ‘Here’s Tom Hardy.’ I don’t want to be me. That’s why I play other people.

I’m just getting settled as a responsible man – but if you split the elephant into little mouthfuls it will be fine.

I set myself that decision, otherwise I’m driving an opinion at you, and I think that would be treating you like you’re an idiot. I don’t want to force-feed you my opinion.

I’m into parlor dramas. I’m into theatre. I’m trained for the stage. I trained to do Chekhov and Shakespeare, I was trained for the stage.

If I am duly compared to Marlon Brando at all, well, I can only think of The Teahouse of the ‘Shanghai Noon,’ that they’re comparing me to that!

The only thing I can do is wipe my arse, brush my teeth, turn up and do the best work I can.

Whatever character you play, remember they are always doing something they are not just talking.

I have a very busy head. I have inside voices that I have learned to contain.

You don’t step on stage to eat; you go there to be eaten.

The Long Red Road is a story about alcoholism and dysfunction and tragic tale of a man who’s trying to drink himself to death on an Indian reservation in Dakota. It was written for me, so it’s something I would love to do.

I liked you better when you were drunk .

I’m going to fail to hit the mark I’ve put up before me because it’s not possible to hit it. I want to be the best at what I do so I’ve got to get over myself already because that’s never going to happen. I ain’t ever going to be God.

I’m an armchair psychologist, I suppose, and I like to kind of sit around and guess and pretend I know what’s going on.

It doesn’t matter who you are. What matters is your plan.

Vanity is normal in performers. Does it bother other people? All the time. But nine times out of 10, that says more about them than you.

A lot of people say I seem masculine, but I don’t feel it. I feel intrinsically feminine. I’d love to be one of the boys but I always felt a bit on the outside. Maybe my masculine qualities come from overcompensating because I’m not one of the boys.