Celebrity doppelgangers are nothing new. Everyone knows that Zooey Deschanel is the hipster version of Katy Perry who is the pop tart version of Emily Blunt. But there is a whole different crop of doppelgangers: celebs who look like the young version of iconic actors. That’s to say, Brad Pitt looks a lot like Robert Redford when he was younger. Check out 15 stars who remind us of those who came before them.
We can’t take these photos of Tom Hardy giving a big ol’ smooch to an adorable puppy. In fact, if you have a heart condition, you should probably look away now.
We believe this story as far as we can metaphorically throw it, but as it involves our personal favorite Christian Grey candidate and amateur tattoo artist/rapper Tom Hardy, we also kind of love repeating it. According to Radar Online, Hardy is not getting along with his Mad Max: Fury Road co-star Charlize Theron because he insists on staying in character when cameras aren’t rolling. “Professionally, they are doing a wonderful job, but in-between takes Tom likes to stay in character and is constantly talking to himself and mumbling things,” Radar’s source says of Hardy, playing the titular role made famous by Mel Gibson. “Charlize has tried to talk to him during breaks in filming but he shuts himself off from the rest of the cast.”
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I am hurt that even though I was the first to make the connection last week that the hiring of Kelly Marcel to write the Fifty Shades of Grey screenplay means good things for my long-held hope for her pal Tom Hardy to be cast as Christian Grey, I have not yet received a job offer to be the movie’s casting director. Well, thanks to the Tumblr Exploring Tom Hardy, tattoo artist Danny Inked Norris and the Facebook page of the Richmond Tattoo Studio in Richmond Upon Thames, England, I feel one step closer to proving my point.
Please bear with me as I turn a tiny bit of news into wild speculation/fanfic. Focus Features just issued a press release stating that Kelly Marcel has landed the highly coveted gig of turning E.L. James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey into a screenplay. Reportedly it was her screenplay Saving Mr. Banks, about Walt Disney’s quest to acquire the rights to Mary Poppins, that got her the job, even though that movie is still in production. We thought we’d take a look at Marcel’s IMDb page to see what else she had done and found out two interesting things: 1) She’s the creator of Terra Nova, that TV show we forgot to watch last year, and 2) she founded something called the Bad Dog Theater Company in London with none other than Mr. Tom Hardy.
Now, I’m a giant fan of Ian Somerhalder and a lot of the other hot actors people have been proposing to play BDSM-obsessed CEO Christian Grey, but ever since I read the book, I’ve been picturing Tom Hardy in the role. He’s just got that right combination of dangerous, sexy and vulnerable required to play the vulnerable overachiever. So even though I can find no actual evidence either of this Bad Dog Theater Company (besides its mention in various online bios), nor do I have any reason to believe Marcel has any pull in the casting of Fifty’s star, I need something like this to boost our spirits on a Monday afternoon. Hollywood, please listen to me for once.
[Photo: Warner Bros.]
It’s been a bit of a long, slow climb to the top for Tom Hardy, but as the Lawless star turns 35 today, we think his success couldn’t come at a better time. After breaking into the scene as a model and stage actor, the Londoner starred in a number of British TV movies — notably making many swoon with his Heathcliff in 2009′s Wuthering Heights for ITV. Most of us on this side of the pond were still unaware of his talents, and those stunning blue-green eyes, until his role in 2010′s Inception. That basically opened the floodgates for him — he’s since starred in Warrior, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, This Means War, The Dark Knight Rises and Lawless. Next up, he’ll take over Mel Gibson’s titular role in Mad Max: Fury Road. But after seeing him rap to his young son, smile sheepishly after winning a modeling contract and play paintball with Reese Witherspoon, some of us are hoping he’s got some romantic comedy roles in the works too. In the meantime, let’s all wish him a happy birthday and fantasize that he’s starring in our own romance by perusing his 35 hottest looks:
[Photos: Getty Images, 20th Century Fox]
When you go see Lawless and ogle at the magic that is Tom Hardy, please know that you have Shia LaBeouf to thank. The actor became a huge fan of Hardy’s after seeing him in Bronson, and reached out to him with the Lawless script. “I wrote him a later,” Shia told said of his first contact with the British actor. “And said I’d really like to work with you.”
Scripts were exchanged, conversations were had, and Shia sold Hardy on the role of Forrest Bondurant, which he plays beautifully. Shia co-stars as Jack Bondurant, Forrest’s little brother and fellow bootlegger living in Prohibition-era Virginia. “I did look up to Hardy,” Shia told us. “I do look up to Hardy, and that translated right into my Jack and Forrest relationship [in the film].”
Shia also name-checked Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling and Hardy as “the guys I look up to,” which is pretty awwww-dorable, don’t you think?
He’s also certainly not alone in his Hardy fandom — we named him one of the top 10 breakout stars of the summer. If you agree, head here to vote for him!
Related: Shia LaBeouf: I “Scared” Mia Wasikowska On Lawless Set
Summer’s nearly over, and what do we have to show for it? Some tan lines? A big dent in our reading list? A new fitness routine? Hardly. We do, however, have a whole new roster of celebrities we’ve been obsessing over for the past three months. We’ll count that as an accomplishment! Some, like Olympians McKayla Maroney and Ryan Lochte, were brand-new to our radar when they came on the scene in London. Others, like Miley Cyrus and Channing Tatum, have been around for a while, but this summer just seemed to be when they reinvented themselves into bigger stars that would not be ignored. Breaking Bad’s Anna Gunn and TLC’s favorite beauty queen Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson made our TV screens come to life, while Tom Hardy and Joe Manganiello made us have some pretty good dreams. Model Claudia Romani made her mark on this very site via the VH1 Celebrity Bikini Awards, and singer Carly Rae Jepson etched her song into our ear canals forever. Who made their way permanently into your hearts this summer? Peep our gallery, vote in our poll and give us your write-in candidates in the comments!
[Photos: CBS, Twitter, Warner Bros.]
Sorry, Tom Hiddleston! If you weren’t convinced after seeing him freestyle while holding his baby Louis last week, Tom Hardy‘s snide, snarling Star Trek screen test will win you over to the dark side. We know we aren’t the only ones who are secretly obsessed with Hardy’s Bane after seeing The Dark Knight Rises. Something about that freakish, hulking strength paired with that cheeky eloquence…it gets us every time. Plus Tom is, you know, incredibly good looking. In case you had failed to notice that part before. Seeing Hardy square off against Patrick Stewart in 2002′s Star Trek: Nemesis on top of all that equals a game over. We love how you can see hints of Tom’s Dark Knight Rises archness when he says the line, “We would have to take it!” Oh, and did we mention he plays Stewart’s evil clone. Game over. We’re done.
While Tom has firmly entrenched himself in the shadowy recesses of our hearts as a villain, he’ll soon be switching it up and playing a hero in next years Max Max: Fury Road. Luckily the film takes place in a gritty, futuristic Australia dystopia, so there’s probably no threat of Hardy suddenly turning into a Tom Hanks-style leading man just yet. Honestly though, put Tom Hanks in a grotesque face mask, give him a spinal scar and make him fight Christian Bale…yeah, we’re on board. We are so on board.
Ever since I saw him in This Means War back in February, I have been trying to will Hollywood to give Tom Hardy a lot more romantic roles, and really, everything else they want to throw his way. Actually, since Inception, I’m pretty sure a lot of casting directors wanted to hire him anyway, but his character was too creepy for me to really jump on the bandwagon. And it’s not like his Dark Knight Rises costume is winning him any rom-coms (though he did beat Christian Bale in last week’s Hotness poll, which was handily won by Joseph Gordon-Levitt). But today, for some reason, the above video is making the rounds, and it proves without a doubt what a vastly talented person this man is. It was posted back in 2011, but judging by the fact that we’re pretty sure that’s his son Louis (now 4), this was probably shot back in 2008. Whatever, the man has skillz. What kind of role will this revelation land him? The fictional story of the long-lost fourth Beastie Boy? Never mind. Just give him ALL of the roles already.
Related: Dark Knight Hotness: Can You Choose Between Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt And Tom Hardy?
