Tom Hardy on his new Netflix crime thriller and the importance of firearm safety on set

JOE spoke with Tom Hardy and director Gareth Evans (Gangs of London, The Raid) about their new Netflix hit and the important issue of firearm safety.

The film sees Hardy play Walker, a crooked cop who agrees to do one more task for a corrupt politician (Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker) so that he can leave the criminal life behind.

In doing this dirty work, however, he becomes ensnared in a tangled, deadly web involving vengeful Triads, as well as a group of fellow corrupt cops (including Timothy Olyphant) determined to stop Walker at all costs.

JOE had the pleasure of interviewing Hardy and Havoc's writer-director, Gareth Evans (known for his work on The Raid movies and the hit series Gangs of London), ahead of the crime thriller's release.

The pair spoke to us about the film's "brutal, primal" action set-pieces and the "unusually" long road the Netflix flick had to get to the screen. On top of this, though, we also had a question for Hardy about the gunplay in Havoc.

@joedotie Will he be making an appearance 🤔 We recently chatted to Tom Hardy about his brand new Netflix action thriller movie Havoc before its release this week.⁠ ⁠ We couldn’t resist asking him about another Netflix crime thriller though 👀⁠ ⁠ We asked Hardy about the possibility of Alfie Solomons making a return in the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie 🤫⁠ ⁠ How class would it be to see Alfie Solomons again though 🙌 ⁠ ⁠ #TomHardy #PeakyBlinders #Havoc #Ireland #thomasshelby #alfiesolomons #shelby #irish #cillianmurphy ♬ original sound - JOE.ie

In the production notes for the movie, Evans mentions that the actor is particularly skilled at gunplay, stating: “Tom knows his weapons, and his calibre of bullets in a way I will never, ever know.

“Gunplay is a big plus point for Tom, so [we thought] let’s give him some really cool gunplay moments. There’s a moment in the Medusa [club] sequence where he does a blind reload of a gun in one shot, and knowing that he could do that means that you’ve got a special moment.”

After reading this, JOE asked Hardy about Evans' comments, inquiring where he got these skills from.

In response, the actor downplayed his abilities, saying he doesn't agree with his director's assessment, before speaking about the important issue of firearm safety on sets.

Hardy said:

"I've been lucky to do quite a few projects where weapons are involved and weapon systems, and I have a healthy respect for firearms.

"I like to be on the right end of them, and I like to know which end is the right end and what could possibly go wrong with them. I think it's healthy to understand that.

"I've been involved in a few projects where there were various advisors and schools of thought. And I've just paid a little bit of attention, but I don't know very much.

"I find my relationship with weapon systems is healthy enough to know I know nothing and remain teachable if they're needed to be used."

Evans echoed Hardy's comments, adding: "The respect for it is the important key factor. We all accrue a certain amount of knowledge from talking to armourers and talking to specialists who have worked with us in this field, and especially with Rob Partridge, our armourer [on Havoc].

"He was such a great leading guidance across the film. That healthy relationship with firearms, especially with the amount that we fired in the film, was paramount and of importance."

Havoc is streaming on Netflix now.