Tom Hardy ‘didn’t think about sexuality’ while playing Kray twins
Tom Hardy has said he didn’t even consider the sexuality of infamous gangsters the Kray twins, when portraying them on screen.
In new biopic Legend, the actor plays both Ronnie and Reggie Kray, who rose to a surreal fame from the 1960s through their links with organised crime.
The pair’s sexuality has been the source of much speculation. Ronnie Kray spoke on various occasions of being gay or bisexual – but there was speculation that in fact both twins had romances with men, and they are often noted as part of LGBT history.
However, despite the pair’s status, actor Tom Hardy has said he didn’t even consider the pair’s sexualities while making the film.
He told Gay Times Magazine: “Do you know what? I didn’t even think about [sexuality]. I don’t think it needs playing, that’s that. Ronnie was gay, does that make sense?
“If I thought about then that would give me pause to think about it, but I just had to get on with doing what I’m doing which is my job.”
He added he prefers not to over-think roles, contuing: “I think if you start playing anything then I think you start to miss the point of what it is you’re supposed to do.
“I think what was complicated is that we don’t know if Reggie was gay as well or not, that’s questionable.
“So that’s where I had to look at ‘Legend’ as its own separate entity, and within this entity, Reggie’s heterosexual, Ronnie’s gay… let’s get on with it.”
An author recently went as far as to claim that Ronnie and Reggie Kray had an incestuous sexual relationship to hide their same-sex attractions – though there is little factual basis for any such claim.
