His real name is Edward Thomas Hardy, but the world knows him simply as Tom Hardy.
One of the biggest actors in the world today, Hardy’s been sober for close to twenty years now.
But before that, it was a very close call for the Hollywood superstar, who started sniffing glue at 11.
At only 16 years old, his addiction to alcohol and cocaine had gotten him into so much trouble that he was facing 14 years in prison.
You’ll find all about it, including what finally got him to sober up, coming right up.
Who is Tom Hardy?
So most of us probably first saw Tom Hardy in Christopher Nolan’s 2010 Inception, alongside Leonardo Di Caprio and Joseph Gordon Levitt.
Fans of war movies might have first seen him all the way back in 2001’s Black Hawk Down. This was his big screen debut.
Over the years he’s appeared in countless movies and series. Some of his most memorable roles include 2008’s Bronson, where he put on 40 pounds of muscle.
There was also 2011’s Warrior, where he played a cage fighter. This was another role for which he also had to undergo exhausting training.
He’s also appeared in Max Mad: Road Fury, Dark Knight Rises, and many more.
He’s basically played just about any role imaginable, and in all genres.`
His net worth is estimated at around 45 million dollars.
He has three children, two from his second wife, actress Charlotte Riley, and another from a woman he dated in between his two marriages.
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Tom’s teenage years
So Hardy was born in 1977 in London, to middle-class artist parents.
He got his first taste of drugs at only 11 years old.
Ironically, this was after a policeman visited his school to warn students about the dangers of sniffing glue.
“Sounds awesome”, the young Thomas though, “where do I get some?”,
Only two years later he had gone from sniffing glue to hallucinogens. That’s also when he tasted his first beer.
He described the experience as calming, and leaving him wanting more.
He was in constant trouble in his teenage years, experiencing many run-ins with the police.
Some of these resulted in juvenile jail.
At 16, he was expelled from his boarding school for theft.
By that age he was already heavily abusing alcohol and cocaine.
The following year he got arrested for car theft and possession of a gun.
The fact that he was carrying a gun when he stole the car meant he could potentially be facing up to 14 years in prison.
He describes the 6 weeks he waited for the crown prosecution service to come back the case as the scariest time of his life.
Unable to sleep, knowing that his life was hanging on the balance.
Fortunately for us, he walked away scott-free on a technicality. Turns out the other boy in the car with him was the son of a diplomat.
This complicated things for the prosecution, who eventually dropped the case.
What made Tom quit drinking
In his late teens and early twenties he dabbled in modelling, which he once described as quote “soul destroying”.
At the suggestion of an acquaintance, he decided to join drama school, which his parents picked up the tab for.
All this time, his drinking and drug abuse continued. .
He describes how he tried to rationalize his addiction as artistic in nature.
But deep down, he understood it was destroying him.:
In a 2017 interview he was quoted as saying:
“If I had four pints of lager and half a bottle of vodka I could turn this room into an absolute f***ing nightmare in about three minutes.
“I could destroy everything in my life I have worked so hard for.”
In another famous quote he said he would sell his mother for crack if he could.
Aside from alcohol and cocaine, he tried just about every illicit substance there was.
Things came to a head in 2003.
After a wild night out partying, he woke up in a crowded street in Soho.
He was lying in a puddle of his own blood and vomit.
That morning, the doctor who treated him laid it out in black and white for him.
“I was told very clearly, ‘You go down that road, Tom, you won’t come back. That’s it. All you need to know,’. “And that message stayed with me clearly for the rest of my days.”
He went to rehab that same year, and successfully completed the 28 day program.
He was 25 years old at the time, and has not had a drink since.
He says having his son Louis definitely played a part in his coming clean.
The responsibly of looking after another human being that is completely dependent on you.
Hardy’s interview with BBC on his issue
The public didn’t really know about Hardy’s addiction battles until around 2006.
With 3 years of sobriety under his belt, he began to open up about his troubled past.
The UK government was not very happy with these revelations though, and they banned Hardy from speaking to schoolchildren.
Hardy would discuss his alcohol and drug abuse on several interviews over the following years.
Here he is on the BBC with Jonathan Ross in 2010.
Addiction researchers call this “polysubstance abuse”, and it’s actually the norm rather than the exception with heavy drinkers.
For example, a 2001 study with alcoholics seeking treatment in New York
found that two thirds reported recent drug use – mostly cocaine, crack, heroin and cannabis.
The heavier the drinker, the more severe drug abuse they tended to report.
What’s Tom Hardy’s life like, now that he is sober?
Hardy has been aided in his recovery by a healthy lifestyle with significant sporting activity.
On screen, he’s undergone various incredible body transformations for various roles.
But even when he’s not preparing for a film, he works out regularly at the gym and also practices martial arts.
Today, Hardy volunteers as an ambassador for the charity Prince’s Trust
He is very grateful for getting a second chance in life, and this is his way of making sure other young people also get that second chance.
His latest film, Venom 2, was in the top 10 grossing movies of 2021.
We wish him all the best.
Till next time, this was Leon for Soberclear. Take care.
