Sir Ridley Scott knew Tom Hardy was going to be a big star from when he first met him.
Sir Ridley Scott
The 79-year-old director cast the 39-year-old actor in his 2001 war movie 'Black Hawk Down' and although Hardy only had a small role in the Oscar-winning film he could see straight away what potential he had to be a leading man on the big screen.
Scott told the Metro newspaper: "I always remember Tom who claimed he was a rapper. I always registered the person who, while having a relatively small part, knew exactly what to do - he always made the right decisions, the right choices."
Scott is proud of the fact that he was the first film director to cast him in a big screen project.
He said: "I think I may have given him his first job."
Since appearing as Spc. Lance Twombly in 'Black Hawk Down' Hardy has gone on to become one of Hollywood's most in-demand actors appearing in box office hits such as Batman blockbuster 'The Dark Knight Rises', 'Mad Max: Fury Road' and 'The Revenant'.
The pair have reunited for new BBC TV drama 'Taboo', which stars Hardy in the lead tole and sees Scott act as a producer.
Scott's next movie release is 'Prometheus' sequel 'Alien: Covenant' which hits cinemas in May and he has worked as executive producer on 'Blade Runner 2049', the science fiction follow-up to his 1982 cult classic which hits cinemas in October.
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