Tom Hardy has surprised fans by returning to his rapping persona, dropping an album full of explicit lyrics. The 48-year-old action star has rarely discussed his past attempts to break into the entertainment world as a rap star, having performed under the name Frankie Pulitzer in the past.
Now the Dark Knight Rises star has dusted off his musical alter ego to team up on a new collaborative album with the American hip-hop supergroup Czarface, which includes members of the Wu-Tang Clan, among others. The new record, titled Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer, includes lyrics about superhero villains and sees Tom channel his Batman character Bane on one track.
Explicit lyrics and Kathy Bates reference
Another track makes reference to the 1990 psychological thriller film Misery, which starred Kathy Bates as an obsessive and dangerous trainee nurse called Annie Wilkes. The British actor, whose film roles include Mad Max: Fury Road, Venom and Peaky Blinders, makes X-rated references to Oscar-winner Kathy, 78.
He raps: "You s***-for-brain no-name lame, that bites like Cujo / I’d rather masturbate to Kathy Bates than hear you flow / And you know that Misery, it loves company."
Hardy's history with music
The new music will come as a surprise to Tom's fans, as the star himself has previously been coy about his music abilities. Back in 1999, he released a mixtape titled Falling On Your Arse under his rap persona, which resurfaced in 2018 as fans dug it up on Reddit.
Opening up about his rap skills to the BBC in 2011, he said: "I used to be [signed] with the guy who managed Leela James and Lauryn Hill, Pras, the Fugees and all that. I worked out with [Grammy-winning producers] Warren Riker and Gordon Williams. I’ve recorded loads of stuff but it’s never been released."
He also recalled his music abilities, and limitations, in 2016 when he was in the running to play Elton John in the biopic film Rocketman. He told The Sun at the time: "I’m not a singer. I have no idea really. I’m really trying because of Rocketman but it’s hard to open my mouth in that way."
He added: "I’m not really drawn towards singing and musicals and that stuff. I did some rap when I was a kid but I’m somebody’s dad now so it wouldn’t be too cool to crack that out!"
Czarface promotes the new record
While Tom has again been notably coy about his involvement on the new collaborative album, not referencing it on his own social media channels, members of Czarface have been plugging the new record. The official Czarface Instagram page has declared that the new album is out, sharing a black and white image of the group huddled together while declaring: "Czarface [meets] Frankie Pulitzer is yours! ... Thanks for all the love on this project."
An Instagram page for Tom's rap persona, @frankiepulitzer, is included in the post, with the actor himself seemingly in the group photo wearing a fully face-concealing balaclava. He wrote in the comments of the post: "THaN Q for the [flame] ~ TH4N Q also 4 letting me Jump in."
Fans of the actor have leapt on the comment and responded to lavish him with praise. One fan branded the album, simply, as "EPIC", while another typed: "When you love music so deeply, you create great musical projects."
