rHodas: Tom Hardy 'Not Worried' About Bane Voice Complaints

Monday, February 13, 2012

Tom Hardy 'Not Worried' About Bane Voice Complaints

'I trust Christopher Nolan implicitly,' Hardy tells MTV News of his 'Dark Knight Rises' director.
By Kara Warner

Tom Hardy as Bane in "Dark Knight Rises"
Photo: Warner Bros.

Those of you following the seemingly never-ending Internet musings about "The Dark Knight Rises" are likely very well of the fact that the biggest story surrounding the film at this point in time is whether or not audiences will be able to understand the words Tom Hardy as villainous Bane is saying through his frightening mask.

Ever since fans got an early glimpse at Hardy in the role via a sneak peek of the film's six-minute opening sequence in December, there has been growing concern and a lot of pre-emptive freaking out over the fact that we're not going to be able to understand anything Bane says.

When MTV News caught up with Hardy at the U.S. premiere of his upcoming action/romantic comedy "This Means War," we asked him how concerned he is about audiences understanding his dialogue.

"Not at all. I trust [director] Christopher Nolan implicitly. I'm not worried at all about people understanding him mumbling away," Hardy said. "But I have seen some brilliant stuff online about [my mumbling] 'Mmmm ... Batman doesn't beat up retards!,' which I thought was very funny. I enjoyed that," he said with a smile, referencing the veritable commotion his voice has made online via various analytical blog posts and the parody Twitter account @MuffledBane.

So there you have it. Trust in Christopher Nolan, people: The Oscar nominated writer/director has said as much himself.

"I think when people see the film, things will come into focus," Nolan told Entertainment Weekly recently. "Bane is very complex and very interesting," he said. "And when people see the finished film, people will be very entertained by him."

For his part, Hardy did admit that Bane's mask is pretty tight, but seems to have enjoyed the villainous aspects of the character, without getting carried away by it.

"I didn't get into a dark place at all," Hardy told Latino Review of his "brutal" and "heavy-handed" character. "A lot of dark characters are easy to have distance from. It's something I feel comfortable with, I suppose."

Check out everything we've got on "The Dark Knight Rises."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

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