Patrick Stewart, known to many as the indomitable Jean-Luc Picard, has pulled back the curtain on his professional life in his latest autobiography, Making It So. Among the candid revelations is his experience filming the 2002 movie Star Trek: Nemesis, where he co-starred with a then lesser-known Tom Hardy.
Stewart shed light on Hardy’s aloof demeanor during the filming. He described how the young actor stood out for his reluctance to engage socially with the rest of the cast.
This unexpected dynamic on set led Stewart to openly address Hardy’s behavior, offering a nuanced view of what it’s like when co-stars don’t quite click.
Stewart portrays the film as a less-than-stellar installment in the franchise, to say the least. Acting opposite him in this production was Hardy.
At the time, Hardy was a then-emerging talent from London who took on the role of the villain, Shinzon.
Stewart highlighted that the script offered him little room to flex his artistic muscles, adding that he had no particularly thrilling scenes to enact. Moreover, he couldn’t help but find Hardy an enigmatic presence—distant, solitary, and uniquely challenging to read. In a cast that often felt like family, Hardy stood out as an exception, a young actor committed to his craft but emotionally elusive.
Expanding on his experiences with Hardy, Stewart painted a picture of a talented co-star who was perhaps challenging in his aloofness.
Hardy didn’t subscribe to the customary on-set pleasantries, avoiding even the most basic social interactions like saying “good morning” or “good night.”
Instead, the young actor preferred to spend his downtime in his trailer with his girlfriend. Hardy’s isolation further deepened the mystery surrounding him, and it did not sit well with Stewart.
“Tom wouldn’t engage with any of us on a social level. Never said, ‘Good morning,’ never said, ‘Goodnight,’ and spent the hours he wasn’t needed on set in his trailer with his girlfriend,” Stewart wrote.
Stewart emphasized that Hardy was not overtly rude or hostile on the set of Star Trek. Instead, he simply had a way of establishing a barrier that made it challenging for people to get to know him or establish any sort of rapport. The distance was palpable but never uncomfortable, more a puzzle than a deterrent. And luckily, it did not hurt Hardy’s career in any way.
Stewart candidly admitted that he had reservations about Hardy’s future in Hollywood. The actor didn’t believe Hardy would succeed, given his reticent nature.
Stewart even recalled a particular moment when Hardy exited the set for the last time.
The departure was so quiet and devoid of farewells that Stewart privately mused to co-stars Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes that they probably wouldn’t hear much from Hardy in the future.
Despite Stewart’s doubts, Hardy’s career has blossomed since playing the villain in Star Trek: Nemesis.
The actor has since ascended to stardom, featuring in blockbuster hits from Bronson to Peaky Blinders and even Venom.
