The Bikeriders: Austin Butler was surprised at how funny Tom Hardy was

Austin Butler was surprised at how funny Tom Hardy was on the set of The Bikeriders, Jeff Nichols’ upcoming motorcycle drama.

You may believe that Tom Hardy is a lot like the characters he portrays, with all the gruff mumbling you could ask for, but Austin Butler discovered that his co-star on The Bikeriders was actually one of the funniest people he’d ever met.

While chatting with Josh Brolin for Interview Magazine, Austin Butler said that he had imagined Tom Hardy was going to be a rather intense and serious figure. “One of the things I was thinking about earlier, when you were talking about that relaxation on set, was that Tom Hardy surprised me,” Butler said. “I pictured him to be this grizzly bear, always serious. And really, he’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. He’d be joking around until action is called, and then go into being the most intense guy I’d ever seen.” Butler continued, “It reminds me of the stories I heard of [Marlon] Brando, talking to the camera operator until the moment action is called.“

Austin Butler added that he learned a lot from Tom Hardy during The Bikeriders. “It reminds me of you, where you can be in that relaxed place where you’re receptive to your environment, and then when the time comes, you can click into what the scene demands,” Butler said. “That one was also great because I had a couple of weeks off from Dune. I went back, and just started training on the motorcycles every day.“

The Bikeriders is a “furious drama following the rise of a fictional 1960s Midwestern motorcycle club through the lives of its members. Kathy, a strong-willed member of the Vandals who’s married to a wild, reckless bikerider named Benny, recounts the Vandals’ evolution over the course of a decade, beginning as a local club of outsiders united by good times, rumbling bikes, and respect for their strong, steady leader Johnny. Over the years, Kathy tries her best to navigate her husband’s untamed nature and his allegiance to Johnny, with whom she feels she must compete for Benny’s attention. As life in the Vandals gets more dangerous, and the club threatens to become a more sinister gang, Kathy, Benny and Johnny are forced to make choices about their loyalty to the club and to each other.“

New Regency recently delayed the release of The Bikeriders due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival this summer (to rave reviews) and was originally set for a release on December 1st.