Tom Hardy has opened-up about his role in upcoming drama series Taboo, comparing his revenge-seeking adventurer to a cannibal serial killer.
The actor's gritty BBC/FX series was created with his father, Chips, and follows character James Delaney as he seeks retribution for the death of his father.
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Speaking to Esquire, Hardy explained Delaney as "a Sherlock Holmes-type detective, a bit more physical as well as smart, but who has that hyper-vigilance; a spiritual, hybrid shaman-cum-cannibal-serial-killer-type thing."
A shaman Hannibal Lecter-esque character certainly sounds intriguing. We are definitely sold.
Hardy also suggested he was a bit of a perfectionist on Taboo, adding: "I know every line, and I know where everything is in every scene, and I know where most candles are. So yeah, I'm never happy."
The 39-year-old admitted that he is attracted to darker roles, even when temptation strikes to try out something different.
"I enjoy the nuttery in my work," he continued. "So that's probably why when somebody goes, 'Do you want to plan another loony?' I go, 'Yeah, I would actually, yeah.'
"There's a part of me that wants to do different stuff, but there's a part of me that goes: do you know what? I want to carry on playing gangsters because every time you go a little bit deeper in that study.
"Why switch it up and be rice-paper thin? 'Oh, he's good because he's doing a musical now!' You know what I mean? It's like, 'Look at me! I'm trying to please people!'"
The full interview appears in the January 2017 issue of Esquire, on sale December 6.
Taboo heads to BBC One on Saturday, January 7.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
