From playing a rogue agent in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, to taking on the role of villainous Bane in Batman: The Dark Knight Rises—an in-depth look the versatile and edgy actor

With his raw talent, edginess, and ability to utterly inhabit the characters he plays, Tom Hardy is well on his way to becoming the finest actor of his generation. With a host of critically acclaimed performances under his belt, Tom's star is undoubtedly in the ascendant. Born into an idyllic, middle-class, suburban life, by his teenage years Tom had grown restless and started to rebel. Bad behavior in the form of alcoholism, drug abuse, and criminal activity ensued and, after a brief stint working as a model, fate intervened and he found his way into an acting course at a local college. Having been plucked from drama school to appear in Band of Brothers, by 2003 his addictions had got the better of him and he collapsed in Soho. Rehabilitation followed, as did a rare second chance at hitting the big time. It was Hardy's stand-out performances as Stuart Shorter in BBC TV's Stuart, A Life Backwards and as Britain's most notorious prisoner in the film Bronson which really made audiences and critics sit up and take notice. Since then, he has earned himself a reputation as a shape-shifting actor with the skill to slip effortlessly in and out of contrasting characters such as Eames in the blockbuster Inception and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. This biography explores his wayward youth, his drama school years, his burnout, and his complex route to eventual success. With a host of major films in 2012 and beyond, he is clearly Hollywood's hottest property.