Harvey Weinstein moved the release date for Lawless because he’s expecting Tom Hardy to be a major star after The Dark Knight Rises even though Hardy, presumably, spends the entire movie behind a mask. Fine. The thing about Tom Hardy is that he gets way more hype within the industry - every actor, director, writer, producer he works with basically goes full on public erection when talking about his talent - than he does outside of it. Which, really, is the way you want it as opposed to the other way around; Robert Pattinson for example has spent a lot of energy since breaking in Twilight proving he can act and is more than just a pretty face that fans love to scream at.
Still, Hardy’s reputation among his peers doesn’t necessarily mean he’s making an impression with the audience. You might know who he is and what he looks like because you read gossip blogs and see new pap shots every day. But that pop culture bubble is deceptive. It lures you into believing that everyone must know why John Travolta spends so much time at the spa, and Tom Hardy’s fiancée is called Charlotte Riley. They don’t.
Even professional photographers who make a living shooting celebrities don’t know that his fiancée is called Charlotte Riley. And the agencies that sell those photos don’t know that his fiancée is called Charlotte Riley. Several agencies labelled Charlotte Riley “Sarah Ward” at last night’s premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in New York. See screen caps attached. And Riley isn’t exactly a regular civilian either. She’s a proper actress herself with a long list of credits. She’s also been with him for two or three years. They’re not new to the premiere and event scene. Still...last night Charlotte was Sarah Ward (the name of Hardy’s ex-wife who he divorced in 2004).
But could they name all 18 Kardashians and their pets? That’s the skill-testing question now if you want to work in entertainment media. I work in entertainment media and I would totally fail that exam.
