Tom Hardy Says His New Netflix Action Movie Is 'Like a Musical' With 'Punching and Kicking'
What happens when you put together the director of The Raid with the star of Venom? According to one-man powerhouse Tom Hardy, you get an action movie that, for fans of the genre, will feel like the way a musical feels for musical theater people.
The movie in question is Havoc, a new thriller from director Gareth Evans, starring Hardy, Justin Cornwell, Jessie Mei Li, Forest Whitaker, and Timothy Olyphant. It's all about a disgraced cop named Walker (Hardy) who has to fight corruption, crooked cops, and gang members all at once. In a sense, it's like Copland meets Dark City. And for Hardy, the movie was something he didn't make for a general audience, but instead, for himself.
"I made this film for me. And I love all of it," Hardy tells JustWatch, in an exclusive interview shared with Men's Journal. "There’s a secret geek in me that loves acting out in ‘interpretive dance’ through punching and kicking and biting and hitting people with hammers."
Though Hardy is currently starring in the excellent MobLand on Paramount+—which also sports stylized action and violence—one shouldn't conflate the two projects at all. Havoc finds Hardy playing a totally different kind of character than in MobLand, complete with a different accent and utterly unique motivations. And for fans of Evans, there's a very specific type of action in Havoc, almost like a video game come to life, fused with the sort of chase sequences out of a dream.
"Gareth Evans has an established hardcore audience. Netflix has an established hardcore audience. It's not targeted at anyone in particular," Hardy explains. "My inner violent twirly comes out [in Havoc]. It’s like a musical for someone like me."
Havoc hits Netflix on April 25, 2025.
Related: Review: 'MobLand' Gives Tom Hardy His Best Role Yet