My father came from an intellectual and studious avenue as opposed to a brawler's avenue. So I had to go further afield and I brought all kinds of unscrupulous oiks back home - earless, toothless vagabonds - to teach me the arts of the old bagarre.

And I like people. I like to know what you're really up to. I'm a bit of a nosey busy body. Why do they do the things they do? Why are they prepared to do the things they do to get what they want? When? Where? Who?

I like to be other people, not me. And when you're on the red carpet, it's like, 'Here's Tom Hardy.' I don't want to be me. That's why I play other people.

I'm from a nice, suburban, middle-class family, but my tattoos remind me where I've been.

I set myself that decision, otherwise I'm driving an opinion at you, and I think that would be treating you like you're an idiot. I don't want to force-feed you my opinion.

Style, I think, is panache. Who are you? What did you do today? And what are you worth to me? What do you have to offer the world? How did you spend your time today on this planet? How are you spending your time every second? What are you doing now? Are you alive, or are you somnambulant?

I think online dating is a way of procuring people. Like Facebook and Myspace, it's the way that people connect now and procure small children and sometimes dodgy relationships. I don't think it's very healthy.