Tom Hardy took the bad reviews of “Venom” to heart by making the sequel “Let There Be Carnage”

Tom Hardy doesn’t necessarily strike you as an actor who cares a lot about what critics think.

Then again, most of the 44-year-old British artist’s films have received critical acclaim, from Creation (2010) to warrior (2011) to The dark knight rises (2012) to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) to The ghost (2015) to Dunkirk (2017).

So bile spat on his anti-hero comic book release of 2018 Venom may have been a shock to his system.

“You say to yourself, ‘Why don’t they like you? “” Hardy laughed during a recent virtual interview with Yahoo Entertainment (see above). “?

“In a lot of ways, the critics, they didn’t like us. But the people who watched it were like, ‘Well, actually, we like it.’ “

And they came in droves. Venom – starring Hardy as journalist Eddie Brock, who develops superpowers after an alien symbiote invades his body – became a massive box office hit for Sony’s Marvel Universe, chewing on $ 856 million dollars in the world. And even many critics who criticized the film praised Hardy’s brave performance and dedication to some of the film’s infamous moments (Lobster Aquarium, anyone?).

Hardy shares the story’s credit on the new sequel, Venom: let there be carnage and says he took the feedback from critics and fans to heart to help shape the story – in which Brock confronts Carnage, the serial killer-turned-symbiote of Woody Harrelson – along with screenwriter Kelly Marcel.

“We were like, ‘OK, well, what did they like? And I collected these bullet points, I harmonized them, I put them in the think tank, then we went to write and it became a collaboration of decisions.

Harrelson, who appeared briefly in a Venom midcredits scene featuring his character, also criticized his previous performance.

“I wasn’t thrilled with what I did, I thought I should have done a better job in that scene with Tom,” Harrelson told us. “I really wanted to do something more interesting in the second.”

The story continues

Harrelson was delighted to work with Hardy, calling him the “new Marlon Brando”. He was not alone.

“He’s such a phenomenal actor,” says Naomie Harris, who plays Harrelson’s lover Shriek.

“Tom’s process is amazing to watch,” agrees Andy Serkis, the acclaimed motion capture actor turned filmmaker who directed Let there be carnage.

Hardy also confirmed something that anyone who saw Venom or his new sequel could probably guess: he has a really right time to make those movies.

“I think as far as fun is concerned, one hundred percent; It is [some] the most fun I have ever had in my life, ”he says. “In terms of accountability and pressure, it’s also up there, because you don’t want to go wrong, you want to do it right. You want to present the best you can and do good for the audience and the fans, and deliver something really good. So you can fight a little bit trying to get that. But who knows? Everything is subjective anyway. But I am really proud of the team. I think the movie looks epic. I think it’s a stronger movie than the first one, and I’m really proud of it.

Venom: let there be carnage play now.

Watch the trailer:

– Video produced by Olivia Schneider and edited by Jimmie Rhee