This A-List Actor Once Said Questions About His Sexuality Are ‘Inelegant’ and ‘Humiliating’
While there have been plenty of celebrated moments in which actors and other celebrities have stepped forward as openly gay, the move toward better representation of LGBTQ+ individuals in Hollywood is no excuse for poor manners. One A-list actor has clarified that media questions about his sexuality are unacceptable.
Here’s what Tom Hardy had to say.
Tom Hardy has faced ‘inelegant’ questions about his identity
Tom Hardy has been fairly open about his personal life — including the struggles. Now an Oscar nominee with serious acting credits to his name, he spent the early years of his career struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. According to the star, acting serves as an outlet for some of his most destructive impulses: “Acting is really a mixture of bulls**tting and manipulation and the study of action-reaction. And camouflage – hiding yourself in other languages, bodies, and shapes.”
Perhaps it’s his ability to shift in and out of identities so easily that has left fans questioning his deeper identity. Fans love to know details about their favorites, but some questions cross a line. According to Entertainment Weekly, Hardy has been none too pleased with prying questions about his sexuality.
Tom Hardy is ‘comfortable’ in his sexuality
Hardy has succinctly and firmly shut down reporters asking pointed questions about his sexuality, but that doesn’t mean he’s uncomfortable with his identity. In fact, he told Entertainment Weekly that he took issue with the time and place more than the question itself: “I’m confident in my own sexuality, and I’m also confident in my own being and talking about any issue you want to talk about it. But there is a time and a place for that.”
Hardy further clarified that his frustration with the “humiliating” line of questioning stems from an effort to make sure he’s being responsible to the LGBTQ+ movement as a whole. “I’m quite sensitive and I feel like I’ve let people down for something that I actually didn’t ask for, for something that’s important to a lot of people,” Hardy explained.
Those who do even a tiny bit of sleuthing will see that Hardy — who is married to longtime partner Charlotte Riley — has addressed the question multiple times, but those statements have done little to stop the speculation from popping up. One reporter got a particularly gruff response from the star. Hardy expressed sympathy for the “young” reporter who was likely trying to get a salacious quote for his own career, but he also made it clear he wasn’t going to put up with that line of questioning: “it left me feeling like I have to do something about that. And it’s like why? Whose business is it anyway and isn’t that the point?”
Tom Hardy has several upcoming projects
Fans who would like to see more of Hardy’s impressive acting range are in for a treat in the coming years. The actor’s IMDb profile shows several projects in the works.
The crime drama The Bikeriders will have Hardy starring alongside Boyd Holbrook and Michael Shannon. It has an expected release date of early December 2023. Netflix’s Havoc is also expected sometime this year, and it has Hardy starring alongside Timothy Olyphant and Forest Whitaker in a thriller about a crime deal gone wrong.
Longer term projects include the Venom sequel, a Mad Max sequel, and an action flick about Navy SEALS currently titled War Party.
It’s safe to say that Hardy’s talent and experience have brought him a wealth of starring roles that will keep him busy for the foreseeable future!
