When I watched cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The lowest grossing of Star Trek's 13 theatrical feature films, Star Trek: Nemesis was also a bomb with critics and audiences, although the blame for its failure doesn't fall on the shoulders of Tom Hardy, who played the main villain, Shinzon.

Shinzon was the malevolent clone of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in Star Trek: Nemesis. Seeking revenge on the Romulans who created and enslaved him, and on the United Federation of Planets, Shinzon mounts a convoluted plot to install himself as the Romulan Praetor before attacking the Federation. But Shinzon has special enmity for Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-E. Ultimately, Captain Picard defeated Shinzon and saved the galaxy, with his clone perishing in the destruction caused by Shinzon's own Thelaron weapon.

Star Trek: Nemesis Was Tom Hardy's First Major Movie Role

Playing Shinzon was Hardy's big break

Tom Hardy had roles in Black Hawk Down and Band of Brothers in 2001 before he was cast as Shinzon, and Star Trek: Nemesis was Hardy's big break. When he was cast as Captain Picard's evil clone, Hardy had the benefit of ing the established and popular Star Trek movie franchise and working with Sir Patrick Stewart, John Logan, who wrote Gladiator, Stuart Baird, who directed U.S. Marshals, and Ron Perlman, who played Shinzon's Viceroy. Shinzon, the main villain of Star Trek: Nemesis, was meant to be a showcase role for Hardy.

Tom Hardy emerged with his career unblemished by Star Trek: Nemesis.

Unfortunately, Star Trek: Nemesis was a disappointment that failed to find a wider audience or appeal to the core Star Trek fanbase. Star Trek: Nemesis bombing ended the Star Trek: The Next Generation movie franchise, and there were no more Star Trek movies for 7 years before J.J. Abrams rebooted Star Trek successfully with Chris Pine leading a new Starship Enterprise cast. However, I'm not surprised Tom Hardy emerged with his career unblemished by Star Trek: Nemesis.

Watching Star Trek: Nemesis, Hardy's Star Potential Wasn't Immediately Obvious

Star Trek: Nemesis wasn't Tom Hardy's best performance

The great performances to come and recognition that would await Tom Hardy weren't immediately obvious from Star Trek: Nemesis. Since Shinzon was Picard's clone, Hardy needed to physically resemble Patrick Stewart's Enterprise Captain, which resulted in Shinzon being bald and wearing a prosthetic nose. Shinzon was meant to be as brilliant as Captain Picard and a formidable leader, yet Hardy's clone was ill-defined and lacked the intended menace. To me, Shinzon comes off as petulant and incompetent as the leader of the Remans bent on destroying the Federation. Star Trek: Nemesis' subplot where Shinzon psychically violated Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) also did Tom Hardy no favors.

In his memoir, Making It So, Tom Hardy "odd and solitary" on set, but he acknowledged Tom's acting talent. Watching Hardy perform as Shinzon, he doesn't come off as Picard's equal, although Tom does capably hold his own in his scenes with Stewart. But Tom Hardy's volatility, unpredictability, and edge are bubbling underneath the surface, albeit hamstrung by Shinzon needing to be a fractured mirror reflection of Captain Picard.

Tom Hardy's Career Is Probably The Best Thing To Come Out Of Star Trek: Nemesis

Hardy is a major Hollywood star today

Tom Hardy rose to greater heights after Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002, and he quickly put Shinzon behind him. Certainly, working with director Christopher Nolan elevated Tom Hardy's career to another level. Hardy stole scenes as Eames in Inception before Nolan cast him as Bane, the villain of The Dark Knight Rises. Becoming the burly Bane meant Hardy had the unenviable task of following the late Heath Ledger's Academy Award-winning performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight, but Tom wowed audiences with his powerful Batman villain. Hardy worked with Nolan once more in Dunkirk as his career continued its hot streak.

Tom Hardy's brilliant performance in The Revenant earned him an Academy Award nomination of his own. Now a respected Hollywood A-lister, Hardy balances his choices between interesting and eclectic film and TV projects that showcase his talents like Locke, Peaky Blinders, and The Bikeriders with major Hollywood franchises, such as playing the titular characters in Mad Max: Fury Road and Marvel's Venom trilogy. Tom Hardy's roles tend to skew toward the villainous, and playing Shinzon in Star Trek: Nemesis did kickstart him toward his destiny as an actor and movie star.