Tom Hardy currently has the number one movie on Netflix but fans are confused by the actor’s latest attempt at a different accent.
The Dark Knight Rises star heads up Havoc, a new action-noir thriller from The Raid and Gangs of London director Gareth Evans, which follows a detective who fights his way through a criminal underworld while trying to rescue a politician’s estranged son.
The film, which also stars Forest Whitaker, Luis Guzman and Timothy Olyphant, is set in an unnamed US city but was filmed entirely in Wales. Filming began on the project way back in 2021 but the release was postponed due to reshoots, which was further delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike in 2023.
Although the film has received mixed reviews, it appears to have become a hit on Netflix, with the action-packed movie outperforming other original movies on the platform including iHostage and Jewel Thief.
Havoc also continues a rich tradition involving Hardy, who is somewhat known for performances involving accents or voices that some fans find difficult to get to grips with.
“Is Tom Hardy trying to pull off a Boston accent in Havoc?” asked one fan.
“I’ve missed playing what accent is Tom Hardy going for?” added a second person.
“Tom Hardy still has his Bikeriders accent,” noted a third viewer.
A fourth joked: “Tom Hardy’s attempt at the American accent will never not be funny.”
Following the release of The Bikeriders, Hardy shared his thinking about his unconventional accent in the period piece.
Speaking to Variety, he said he wanted his performance to play against expectations.
“You look straight away at a biker movie and think, ‘Oh, it’s leather. It’s sexy. The music’s great. The hair’s great. The obvious choice is to play to all of these.’ So the obvious choice for somebody like me is to go to the counterpoint of all those. This guy is a tragic clown,” said the Venom star.
He added: “Where’s the pathetic element? Where’s the wretch? Where’s the embarrassing moments? Where’s the weaknesses? I need to flesh this guy out. Why is the voice a little bit creepy? Why is it a little like Bugs Bunny? What can we imbue this stud with that’s so un-studly that I can identify with it? Because I’m not that!”
Hardy went on to say that he’s “not sure that I did nail” the midwest accent, but that he wasn’t concerned with simply accurately replicating a dialect.
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In 2022, a survey by Preply, via The Wrap, found that US viewers have a harder time following along with the British actor’s dialogue than any other star.
