I guess this movie will be twice as much fun for us Tom Hardy fans.
The first official image of Tom Hardy as the notorious Kray twins in Brian Helgeland’s biopic “Legend” has been released.
The first official image of Tom Hardy starring as the Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie, has been released. Hardy has been cast to play both twins in Brian Helgeland’s upcoming biopic about the infamous London gangsters who have become iconic British figures.
The biopic, which is called “Legend,” will look at the relationship between the twins as they govern the London criminal underworld in the 1960s. The Krays were the most feared gangsters in London, yet they also lived dual lives as public figures, owning a nightclub in the West End, “Esmeralda’s Barn.”
They would coerce with celebrities including Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Diana Dors and were the subject of a set of photographs taken by iconic photographer, David Bailey.
Despite their public image, the Krays were responsible for many serious crimes and were eventually arrested and charged with the murder of Jack “The Hat” McVitie in 1968. The following year they were sent to jail where they would spend the remainder of their lives.
Ronnie was later declared insane and died in 1995, suffering a heart attack while at Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire, England. Reggie was released on compassionate grounds a few weeks before his death from bladder cancer in 2000.
This won’t be Hardy’s first role as a notorious British criminal. In 2008 he played violent prisoner Charles Bronson in Winding Refn’s film “Bronson,” a performance which won him much critical acclaim.
“Legend” began shooting this week and also stars Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Christopher Eccleston, Tara Fitzgerald and Chazz Palminteri. As of yet there is no release date set for the movie.