Tom Hardy Loves Dogs, Bonded With The Drop Puppies—See Photos of the Actor With His Furry Friends!

Dark Knight Rises actor and his partner have two at home

What's the key to Tom Hardy's heart? Must love dogs.

The 36-year-old British actor, who played the villain Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, and longtime partner Charlotte Riley have two dogs of their own. He also helps others find homes and bonds with dogs he works with.

"Can't have any more for the moment," he said about his family pets in an interview with Vulture, which was posted on Wednesday. "And actually, they're a handful, two. But I love dogs. Like, A LOT. They're my favorite animal. Ever."

Hardy's latest film, The Drop, the late James Gandolfini's final movie, features a pit bull named Rocco. Hardy was spotted last year cuddling with one of the pups on the set of the crime drama film, which also stars Noomi Rapace and is set for release on Sept. 12.

Who could blame him? Look at that face! And "Rocco" is even cuter in this video.

Hardy told Vulture that the "love of the dog" for his character, Bob, in The Drop was a "big draw" for him. He added that he sometimes brought one of the pit bull puppies who played Rocco home (and even to the bar) and carried him in the hood of his jacket.

"T was the first one we had, then he started to grow, then he started to get bigger, so J came in, and they had two different personalities—all dogs have different personalities," Hardy said. "But it was hard. I was getting favorites. T was my favorite, and then T started getting boisterous, he didn't really care so much, so I found J. J was really cute and he wanted to just kiss all the time, and like, lick. He was the one that came back with me, and then T got upset because I was taking J back, so I had to take T back, and I was like, 'I've gotten really on with these dogs.'"

(Pictured below: Tom Hardy and one of his family's dogs appear near the set of the movie Legend in London on July 15.)

Hardy, who also appears with a dog in the 2006 comedy movie Scenes of a Sexual Nature (pictured below), told Vulture that he sees himself "as a dog inside in many ways."

"I'm very, very loyal, but, you know, I will piss on the carpet," he joked. "I will chew your sneakers! And sometimes I look like I'm going to bite, but actually, if you know me, I'm not like that."

"Each dog has a job. Some, you know, have different jobs [than] others. I have a job. You know, I see myself very similar to a dog. That sounds so weird?" he asked. "I f--king love dogs, okay? I love dogs."