Bulking Up for The Dark Knight Rises' Bane Damaged Tom Hardy's Body

Since Tom Hardy is set to play Al Capone in the upcoming movie Fonzo and is no stranger to dramatically transforming his appearance for a role, he was recently asked if he'll pack on the pounds to play the notorious and stout Chicago gangster.

"It's not the classic Al Capone that you necessarily envision with the silhouette," Hardy told The Daily Beast, while doing press for his new eight-part television series Taboo. "I don't want to give too much away about it, but there's definitely a transformation with that role. I don't know if it's as drastic as Bane. I've probably damaged my body too much. I'm only little! If I keep putting on weight I'll collapse like a house of cards under too much pressure."

As he pointed out, he's not a large man to begin with, so for him to add muscle and fat to his 5'9" frame in a relatively short time is challenging. He was then asked if body was indeed damaged when he bulked up to play MMA fighter Tommy Riordan Conlon in 2011's Warrior and Bane in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises.

"I think you pay the price with any drastic physical changes," the 39-year-old English actor explained. "It was alright when I was younger, to put myself under that kind of duress, but I think as you get into your 40s you have to be more mindful of the rapid training, packing on a lot of weight and getting physical, and then not having enough time to keep training because you're busy filming, so your body is swimming in two different directions at the same time. And then after the film I'm tired, and you maybe have to change your shape again and go back to your normal size for the next film. To go from one extreme to another has a cost. I haven't damaged my body, but I'm certainly a bit achier than I used to be! I kind of miss it. Compared to Christian Bale I've been by no means extreme in my body changes, but for what little I've done, yeah, I certainly have joints that click that probably shouldn't click, you know what I mean? And carrying my children is a little bit harder than it used to be—but don't tell them!"

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The Dark Knight Rises is the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane.

The cast featured Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman.

It was directed by Christopher Nolan, based on a screenplay he wrote with his brother, Jonathan Nolan.

Hardy can currently be seen in Taboo. It airs on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. EST on FX.