Acclaimed acting talent Tom Hardy proved that his physical fitness isn’t just for the camera or fight scenes by winning a real life martial arts tournament. The actor known for playing one ofBatman’siconic villains, Bane, entered and won a real life Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament.
Hardy is known for bringing a great deal of physicality to his roles, as he is often seen performing his fight and action scenes. After hisperformance inThe Dark Knight Rises,Hardy instantly became a household name.Batmanfans held a great deal of admiration for the actor for the way he was able to bring Bane to life on the big screen.
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Now, fans can see Bane in a real life combat scenario. AsThe Guardianreports, Hardy participated in the 2022 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open Championship, which was held by Ultimate Martial Arts Championships at Oakgrove school in Milton Keynes, a city in England. This is the second time this year the actor went to andwon a jiu-jitsu tournament. This time, Hardy not only won the tournament but also the respect of the fellow combatants.
“I was shell-shocked,” said Danny Appleby, one of Hardy’s opponents, “[Hardy] said, ‘Just forget it’s me and do what you would normally do….a really strong guy… You wouldn’t think it with him being a celebrity.” The fighter went on to say, “I’ve done about six tournaments and I’ve been on the podium in every one… But he’s probably the toughest competitor I’ve had – he certainlylived up to his Bane character, that’s for sure.”
Hopefully this doesn’t start a wave of celebrities going to fight in tournaments because, as with everything, this isn’t something to take lightly. The combatants are heavily trained and accustomed to the vigorous physical requirements these challenges have. With that being said, it’s a nice change of pace to see that the practical and grounded portrayal of Bane was not far off from the real thing.
Most of the Batman movieshaven’t relied on animation as much as Marvel Studios has due to the nature of the material. Lately many people have been upset with the overuse of CGI in comic book movies. There should be a healthy balance to it, as realism isn’t always good and CGI isn’t all bad. Most of these comic book characters posses spectacular abilities that couldn’t possibly be captured on film without the use of special effects. As long as it’s not over done, many fans don’t mind it.
