Tom Hardy’s performance as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises is one of the most iconic in recent superhero film history, but director Christopher Nolan still believes it hasn’t been properly appreciated. The third and final entry in Nolan’s acclaimed Batman trilogy may not be quite as celebrated as its predecessor (which was recently added to the National Film Registry), but it’s certainly garnered its own degree of praise. Hardy’s Bane has been central to the film’s unique identity since even before its release.
Following up Heath Ledger’s Joker as the next main villain in Nolan’s series, Hardy’s task was incredibly tough from the beginning. Ledger’s performance instantly rose to legendary status after The Dark Knight’s release, and whoever was destined to follow in his footsteps had massive shoes to fill. Hardy’s Bane achieved a similarly high level of cultural impact, though the nature of that impact was different from Ledger’s. Bane quickly became an icon of the internet meme space and still remains one today – a fact that’s made Hardy’s performance as much a source of humor as one of respect.
Perhaps that’s part of why the man who directed Hardy in the role still doesn’t think the actor has gotten his due credit yet. In a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via CBR), Christopher Nolan lauded Hardy’s work as Bane, saying that the performance “has yet to be fully appreciated.” He complimented the actor’s impressive emotional range given a limited set of visible facial features, even going so far as to compare Hardy to Marlon Brando. Read the full quote below.
"There's no safety net for any of these guys and Tom, I mean…what he did with that character has yet to be fully appreciated. It's an extraordinary performance, and truly amazing…The voice, the relationship between just seeing the eyes and the brow. We had all these discussions about the mask and what it would reveal and what it wouldn't reveal, and one of the things I him saying to me, he sort of put his finger up to his temple and his eyebrow and said, 'Can you give me this to play with? Let people see this.' Sure enough, you see there in the film, this kind of Brando-esque brow, expressing all kinds of just monstrous things. It's really quite a performance."
Nolan’s comments are in line with the public persona he’s cultivated – a director who’s never afraid to candidly share his opinions on his own work and the industry at large. Recently, he’s been one of the most outspoken critics of Warner Brothers’ plan to make all 2021 theatrical releases streamable on HBO Max on the same day. Warner Brothers has produced many of Nolan’s hugely successful films, including the Dark Knight trilogy.
While Hardy’s performance as Bane may have suffered a bit of a reputational hit as a result of being heavily memed, it still holds a significant presence in the cultural history of superhero films. Some comic book fans have taken issue with movie Bane's major diversions from the Bane of the comics – both visually and in of backstory. However, post-release, Hardy managed to establish his own iteration as an independent and compelling character in The Dark Knight Rises.
Sources: Happy Sad Confused, CBR
