Edward Thomas Hardy was born on September 15, 1977, and grew up in East Sheen, London.
He scored a brief contract with Models One after winning a modeling competition on "The Big Breakfast." He was 20.
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Source: Esquire UK
He was expelled from public school when he was younger for stealing. After two attempts, he ended up attending the Drama Centre in London, whose alumni include fellow Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender and Colin Firth.
While he was a student, he landed his first role as John Janovec on HBO's "Band of Brothers."
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdHis next role was also his film debut: Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down."
Shortly thereafter, he portrayed Shinzon, a clone of Patrick Stewart's character, in "Star Trek: Nemesis." The film was the last to star the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and was the least successful of the franchise.
Hardy appeared in a few other movies, such as "Dot the I," but he was struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. He went into rehab in 2003.
That same year, Hardy earned the most promising newcomer award from the London Evening Standard after performing in the theater productions of "In Arabia We'd All Be Kings" and "Blood." "In Arabia We'd All Be Kings" also earned him a nomination for a most promising newcomer Olivier Award in 2004.
After appearing in a few TV movies, Hardy landed the role of Robert Dudley in the BBC's miniseries "The Virgin Queen."
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdThat same year, he portrayed Raumont in "Marie Antoinette."
Hardy is known for transforming for his roles. To play a homeless, alcoholic, sociopathic junkie in 2007's "Stuart: A Life Backwards," he lost nearly 30 pounds. He also earned his first BAFTA nomination.
He then gained 42 pounds of muscle for "Bronson." He received high praise and won a best actor British Independent Film Award for his portrayal of Charles Bronson, one of Britain's most notorious prisoners. He also shaved his head and grew a handlebar mustache.
That same year, he starred in "Sucker Punch" and "RocknRolla." In 2009, he played Healthcliff in ITV's adaptation of "Wuthering Heights."
He met his wife, Charlotte Riley, when she played Cathy in "Wuthering Heights." The couple married in 2014 and welcomed a child in 2015. Hardy was previously married to Sarah Ward from 1999 to 2004. He also has a son with his ex-girlfriend Rachael Speed.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdHe made his US stage debut in the Phillip Seymour Hoffman-directed play "The Long Red Road" in Chicago in 2010.
He won a BAFTA rising star award for playing the supporting role Eames in Christopher Nolan's "Inception," which was a blockbuster at the US box office.
He starred alongside Michael Fassbender — also nominated for an Oscar this year for "Steve Jobs" — in 2011's "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." This was the first time Hardy got to act alongside Gary Oldman, whom he has cited as one of his acting heroes. It wouldn't be the last.
He starred alongside Joel Edgerton in "Warrior," for which he learned how to cage-fight.
He gained prominence in the US after portraying Bane in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises." It's his highest-grossing movie to date.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdHe starred in the 2012 romantic comedy "This Means War" and as a bootlegger in "Lawless." Hardy and his "Lawless" costar Shia LaBeouf got into a fight on set, according to the director.
Hardy received critical acclaim for "Locke," a real-time account of a man's journey to London as phone calls unravel his personal dilemmas.
He starred alongside the late James Gandolfini in "The Drop," which was Gandolfini's final appearance in a theatrical film. In 2015, Hardy starred in the panned "Child 44."
Hardy loves dogs and currently has two. He even has a pit-bull tattoo on his back. He told Vulture dogs are his "favorite animal ever."
Hardy portrays a Jewish gang leader in the second season of BBC Two's "Peaky Blinders."
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip Ad2015 was a busy year for the actor. He plays the lead character in the critically-adored box-office smash "Mad Max: Fury Road." The film scored 10 Oscar nominations, including best picture. Hardy is set to reprise his role in three additional movies, should they happen. A sequel, "Mad Max: The Wasteland," is slated for 2017.
Hardy showed off his singing chops in "London Road," a thriller based on a musical of the same name. The script is taken from interviews with community members coping with an English serial killer in Ipswich, Suffolk, England.
He then portrayed the Kray twins, notorious English gangsters during the 1950s and 1960s, in "Legend."
And to top off the year, Hardy earned an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in "The Revenant" as John Fitzgerald, the man who leaves Leonardo DiCaprio's Hugh Glass to die. Hardy was originally going to work on "Splinter Cell" before DiCaprio called him and told him to read the script.
Hardy and his friend Dean Baker founded a production company, Hardy Son & Baker, in 2012. They produced the TV documentary "Poaching Wars" in 2013, which starred Hardy, and they're producing the upcoming TV miniseries "Taboo," also starring Hardy.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdHe's slated to star in Christopher Nolan's 2017 WWII film "Dunkirk," alongside fellow supporting actor nominee Mark Rylance (for "Bridge of Spies").