Who Did Tom Hardy Seek Advice From While Preparing To Play Venom? ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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So, Tom Hardy wasn’t just gearing up for Venom (2018); he was stepping into a whole new realm of digital mayhem. But instead of figuring it out alone, Hardy made a call to someone who knew the ropes of motion capture better than anyone: The Lord of the Rings legend Andy Serkis. Yes, the legendary Gollum himself. And little did Hardy know that this call would spark a massive shift, not just in his performance but in the entire Venom franchise.
Before Venom even hit theaters, Hardy was already thinking about what the next step would look like. As much as he was ready to rock that motion-capture suit, he knew there was one man to turn to: Andy Serkis, the icon who helped bring Gollum and Caesar to life. So Hardy called Serkis up. “He called me before the first Venom and said, ‘Andy, I’m going to be doing this character, and it’s going to be a digital character,” Serkis said in an interview with Uproxx.
Naturally, Serkis was all in. He invited Serkis to the studio to teach him the art of motion capture. But… as fate would have it, their session never happened. Tom Hardy went on to shoot Venom, and, well, Serkis didn’t exactly know what digital character Hardy was talking about until the movie dropped.
Now, you might think that was the end of the story. But nope. The Venom sequel came along, and that initial call from Tom Hardy suddenly became more important. Before Venom: Let There Be Carnage rolled, Hardy rang up Serkis again – this time, not for advice, but for something way bigger: “Hey, wanna direct Venom 2?”
Andy Serkis didn’t have to think twice. “Tom and I have quite similar sensibilities in a way – definitely swimming in the darker end of the swimming pool. Sort of grungy kind of sort of dysfunctional characters that are outsiders,” Serkis said in the same interview. “In many ways, I think that’s why he wanted me to get involved.”
It was the perfect fit. After a few hiccups with Venom’s original director, Ruben Fleischer, Hardy needed someone who got the Venom vibe – someone who knew how to make the outsider characters truly come alive. Enter Serkis, who didn’t just direct Venom 2; he gave it a whole new edge.
The first Venom movie had its moments, but Venom 2 took things up a notch. That lobster tank scene? That quirky, chaotic gem became the gold standard. And Serkis was determined to keep that wild energy flowing in the sequel. It wasn’t just about making another movie but about creating something personal and chaotic, a true reflection of both Tom Hardy and Andy Serkis’ creative sensibilities.
What started as a simple phone call became an epic partnership that turned Venom 2 into a darker, weirder, and more compelling ride. Hardy might’ve gotten the motion-capture advice he needed, but he also got something even better: a director who truly understood the madness of Venom. And that is how Venom 2 went from good to absolute chaos in the best way possible.
