Tom Hardy, who comes from East Sheen, was arrested at just 15 after joyriding in a stolen car.
After boarding school, Tom Hardy had a stint as a model and then did a foundation course in drama in Richmond, followed by a spell at the Drama Centre, from where he was thrown out.
The Guardian describes a low point in Tom Hardy's life:
" ... five years ago, he collapsed over his crack pipe and awoke in a puddle of puke, blood and toxic self-disgust."
Tom Hardy has amassed a variety of credits in TV, film and theatre.
Tom Hardy's first significant part was in Band of Brothers.
His film credits have included The Reckoning, Black Hawk Down, Star Trek: Nemesis, Layer Cake, Marie Antoinette, and RocknRolla and playing the lead role in Bronson.
Tom Hardy's TV credits include The Virgin Queen, Sweeney Todd, Gideon's Daughter and Oliver Twist.
On stage, he won the 2003 Evening Standard award for Outstanding Newcomer for In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings.
Tom Hardy's performance in the title role of BBC Two's adaptation of Stuart: A Life Backwards, earned him a 2008 Bafta nomination for best actor.
In 2009, Tom Hardy starred as plays Freddie Jackson in Martina Cole's The Take, for which he was once again nominated for a Bafta.
