by Meg Malone
In the lead-up to "The Dark Knight Rises," fans have been waiting to see the full extent of what Bane — the muscular, masked antagonist of Christopher Nolan's film — will do to Gotham and its hero on the big-screen. At the movie's premiere, MTV News caught up with Tom Hardy, who expressed his initial feeling that he wasn't quite right to take on the role of Bane — that is until he learned who Bane actually was.
"When I first heard of Bane I think like a lot of people who aren't Batman-centric in a way, I didn't know who he was," Hardy said. "So I had to be explained who he was and then I looked at him and I saw his luchador mask and his way-tight wrestling pants and his huge muscles. I thought, 'He must have got the wrong man, because I can't play — I don't play that.'"
Bane has an interesting history in the Batman comics, and Hardy discussed how Nolan's approach to this particular character differed what fans might be more used to.
"Chris Nolan's take on [Bane] was intrinsically lateral because he has a way of wanting and desiring to breathe a realism and a lateral thought into that which has already come through the comic book world," Hardy said. "I think largely that's going to upset some people and there's some people that are going to really hang onto that, and I'm one of those people that really enjoys that actually, to be quite honest — carving a new way through something that's already a set piece on the planet."
After Hardy touched on a change in Bane's background from the comics, he assured moviegoers' about the decisions behind this interpretation of Bane.
"There was also conscious choices made around him to benefit both the fans and new people," Hardy said.
Though they are foes in the film, working with Christian Bale was a treat for Hardy, who called Bale "an amazing actor." Hardy also expressed a hope that he and Bale could work again, though considering both characters' distinctive voices, perhaps under different auditory conditions.
"On the one hand, there's Batman and Bane; on the other hand, there's me and Christian," Hardy said. "I hope to work with him again on other stuff. Something preferably where I can hear him and he can hear me."
Excited to see what havoc Hardy's Bane causes once "The Dark Knight Rises" opens? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!
