Tom Hardy looks gruff and rugged, and sometimes he has the attitude to back it up.
Covering British Esquire for its May issue, the Mad Max: Fury Road actor opens up about everything from his level of fame to how he picks and chooses movie roles. He also admits that since he's risen to a new level of success, he has had to learn to adjust the way he goes about working.
"I have a reputation for being difficult. And I am. I am, actually," he says. "But I'm not unreasonable. It used to be that if somebody hurt me I'd lash out a bit, in order to get them to stop. It ultimately comes from fear."
But overtime he learned that he couldn't always "lash out" because it mean that it could hurt his future and his career, which he couldn't afford to do because he has a family to take care of.
"If I cause enough of a mess, then people will never ask me again to do something I don't want to do," he continues. "But that sort of backfires after a while so you don't want to do that. You grow up."
All of that growing up also seems to have given the Inception actor a little perspective, as he tells the magazine that fame won't alter his lifestyle choices or how he raises his family.
"I'm 37. How f--king mega-famous can I get at 37? Anything else that gets in the way of [mine and my family's life] goes first. I don't say that lightly. Because I'm financially secure enough to say that, within my means," he explains.
But he clarifies that no matter how much money he makes he won't be trading it for what he's passionate about.
"I'm not a multi-multi-millionaire; I haven't got enough money to survive my whole life and look after my friends and family, but I would rather be able to go to Crock A Doodle (where British Esquire's interview took place), and be with my dogs, and walk down the street, and people know me and say hello," he tells the magazine.
"That's great, it's like being a local in an old fashioned sitcom, Cheers or whatever, but in real life. You know me? Great. That's cool. Totally. Brilliant. Love it. At least I know I'm not alone in the world," he adds.
Read the full interview here.