PT Entertainment
Tom Hardy popped up, and won, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition in Milton Keynes, England this past Saturday, Sept. 17, according to the Milton Keynes Citizen.
The 45-year-old actor reportedly dominated his section on his way to securing the top prize. The martial arts social media account, Taped_Fingers, even shared a fantastic picture of Hardy holding his certificate of victory — made out to his real name “Edward Hardy” — while giving the camera a big wink.
A spokesperson for the tournament’s organizer, Ultimate Martial Arts Championships, said, “Tom was a really nice guy. Everyone recognized him but he was very humble and was happy to take time out for people to take photographs with him. It was a real pleasure to have him compete at our event.”
A rep for Hardy did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
Hardy has been fond of Brazilian jiu-jitsu for years, and has worked his way up to achieving a blue belt, the second rank (out of five) for adults in the martial art. The competition in Milton Keynes wasn’t even Hardy’s first: Just this past August, he also won gold at a charity tournament in Wolverhampton.
Speaking with local media at the time, Hardy’s opponent in the semi-final of that Wolverhampton competition said, “I recognized him straightaway. Everyone knows who Tom Hardy is, don’t they? I was shell-shocked. He said ‘just forget it’s me and do what you would normally do.’ He’s a really strong guy…You wouldn’t think it with him being a celebrity.”
Hardy’s last major film role 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage, while earlier this year he appeared in a few episodes of the final season of Peaky Blinders. His next project, Havoc, directed by Gareth Evans, is expected to arrive in 2023.
