Havoc's Tom Hardy 'swore blind' he did a genuine Welsh accent in movie - until he found out he didn't

Wales Online

30-04-2025

Havoc's Tom Hardy 'swore blind' he did a genuine Welsh accent in movie - until he found out he didn't
The actor had based the Welsh accent on a man he knew, who turned out to be English
English actor Tom Hardy has spoken about the accent mishap that happened over 10 years ago but still continues to haunt him
(Image: AFP or licensors )
Actor Tom Hardy has revealed that a Welsh accent mishap continues to haunt him.
In an interview with Absolute Radio, the Hollywood star spoke about his accent on the 2013 psychological drama film Locke, in which the actor plays the role of Ivan Locke who conducts a series of phone calls during his journey from Birmingham to London. In the film, which is directed by Peaky Blinders' Steven Knight, the character of Locke has a supposed Welsh accent. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter .
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As it was reported around the time the film was released, the actor, who's currently appearing in Netflix's #1 film, Welsh-made Havoc, had based the accent on a man he knew.
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But when the film was released over a decade ago, the Welsh accent was described as "Machynlleth via Minsk" by some critics.
And the actor later revealed there was a very good reason why his Welsh' lilt in the film had attracted so much stick - the person he based it on actually turned out to be English.
In a recent interview with Absolute Radio, the actor revealed the blunder that continued to haunt him.
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He said: "I'll tell you what, Locke was a funny one because I could have sworn blind I was doing a Welsh accent that I based off a man that I'd met.
"So I based that character on him to the letter. And then WalesOnline called him, because I told them who he was, and they called him up.
"And he said, 'Tom I've just had WalesOnline on the phone and they're very excited about, you know, me being Welsh', he said. 'But I'm from Norfolk'. 'Are you sure? Could have sworn you were Welsh'."
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He continued: "So, yes, my Welsh accent in Locke is a Norfolk accent apparently."
The Hollywood heartthrob, who otherwise wowed critics with his lead performance in the hit low-budget drama, admitted he made the slip-up after spending time in war-torn Afghanistan with a pal of his who's an SAS veteran.
Back in 2014, he said: "I'd been telling everyone in interviews that I'd based the character of Ivan Locke on this guy Bill Freear who runs a specialist risk management firm called Pilgrim's Group".
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He continued: "I went with him to the Middle East because I needed to do some research for another film I'm working on, and Bill got me in and out of hostile environments like Kabul with no body armour and the minimum of fuss – a very low key, down to earth and practical bloke.
"And I spent a solid amount of time listening to him talk and thought to myself, 'This is the guy, that's Ivan Locke right there'.
"Funny thing is though – and this is how off target I was – he later rang me up and told me he'd been approached by WalesOnline to speak about his background and growing up in Wales.
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"At which point he had to tell them he wasn't Welsh at all."
Tom Hardy is starring in a brand new film called Havoc, directed by Welshman Gareth Evans
(Image: Getty Images )
He then added: "So God knows where I got that from – I can only imagine I must have been so scared at the time that I'd just thought, 'You're Welsh, that'll do it for me'."
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The actor is currently starring in a brand new film Havoc, which is directed by Welsh director Gareth Evans, and some scenes were filmed in Barry Island.
The star recently defended the Vale of Glamorgan area after a radio DJ poked fun at a famous ghost train there and told him "you can't say that". You can read more on this story here.