VENOM: Tom Hardy Reveals The Unlikely Inspirations For His Off-Kilter Eddie Brock Performance

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Take filmmaker Woody Allen, MMA fighter Conor McGregor, and rapper Redman, throw them into a blender and what do you get? Well, if you’re not quite sure what the answer to that is, according to Tom Hardy you get Eddie Brock. That’s how he describes the way he put together his performance for Sony/Marvel’s Venom.

Here’s what Hardy told Esquire about what went into his portrayal of Brock in Venom:

“Woody Allen‘s tortured neurosis and all the humor that can come from that….Conor McGregor—the überviolence but not all the talking. And Redman, out of control, living rent-free in his head.”

Much has been made about Hardy’s Venom performance, as glimpsed in two trailers so far. While many choose to focus on what he looks and sounds like when he’s in his full symbiote glory as the titular antihero, some have found his Eddie Brock quite noteworthy. He’s got a sort of high-pitched voice, a twitchy demeanor, and seems generally unstable whenever we’ve seen him. The Revengers Podcast co-host has compared him to a “barely-contained Bobcat Goldthwait.”

Now that we know which sources he was pulling inspiration from, his performance makes much more sense, doesn’t it?

I’ve got to admit it. I’m absolutely obsessed with this movie right now. I’ve watched the latest trailer more than any of the other huge trailers that have come out these last few weeks- including Shazam!, Godzilla: King of The Monsters, Glass, and Aquaman. It’s hard to even describe why, but I just can’t get enough of his Venom voice and the bananas dialogue he delivers while in symbiote form.

I have a feeling all the haters and naysayers are going to be silenced and very pleasantly surprised when this film comes out on October 5th. I think director Ruben Fleischer and Hardy have created something quite special and unique here.

What are your current thoughts on Venom? And what do you make of the unlikely inspirations for Hardy’s Eddie Brock?

SOURCE: Esquire