Leonardo DiCaprio Helped Tom Hardy Get His Role in The Revenant

In a 2015 interview with Variety, Tom Hardy shared an interesting tidbit about his casting in Alejandro Iñárritu’s rugged wilderness epic, The Revenant. Hardy revealed that Leonardo DiCaprio played a pivotal role in his inclusion in the film. According to Hardy, "DiCaprio called me up and said, ‘Dude, I know you’re about to do something where you’re jumping out of helicopters and shooting guns and s. But before you do that, I need you to take a look at this script. It’s fing awesome.’ That’s how it started — ‘It’s going to be f***ing awesome.’ Then I had a meeting with Alejandro, talking through the character. I ended up getting the job."

Tom Hardy’s portrayal in The Revenant is nothing short of remarkable. I watched the film at an early screening before the awards season frenzy began. Surprisingly, I remained unaware that Hardy was portraying Fitzgerald until the end credits rolled. While Hardy may not be a chameleon-like actor in the vein of Gary Oldman during the 1980s and ’90s, his versatility is undeniably impressive. Comparing his role in The Revenant to his performance in The Drop, one can witness two entirely different personas. This ability to undergo startling transformations never comes off as mere stunts.

It seems inevitable that Hardy will eventually clinch an Oscar. However, if he follows a path similar to Gary Oldman, who didn’t receive his first Academy Award nomination until 26 years after his breakthrough in Alex Cox’s Sid and Nancy, the coveted trophy might still be some time away. If keeping the Academy’s attention is crucial to Hardy’s career or ambitions, he might benefit from DiCaprio’s insight on awards campaigns. DiCaprio accumulated four nominations from 1994 to 2014 before finally securing the Best Actor award for his role in The Revenant in 2016.

Source: Variety