Tom Hardy Brought His Beloved Dog Woody to a Movie Premiere
Tom Hardy and Woodstock, aka Woody, on the red carpet.
Tom Hardy loves dogs. In fact, he loves canines so much, he brought one as his date to the premiere of Legend, a gangster movie starring the actor as both identical twins Reggie and Ronnie Kray. Woodstock is a yellow lab mix. Nicknamed Woody, the dog is actually a celebrity in his own right, having been featured in a PETA campaign with his adopted father.
Tom Hardy and Woody star in a PETA campaign.
The action star, known for his roles in Inception and The Dark Knight Rises, has such a deep and enduring devotion to his animal best friends —yes, he has multiple — that not only does he bring them to movie sets and red carpets, but he also talks about them at length and has even admitted to liking the animals more than humans (minus his son, Louis, 7, who “couldn’t do anything to upset me.”)
Tom Hardy and a pitbull puppy keeping each other warm.
“Wherever I go, I get a dog, pretty much,” Hardy told Vulture when asked about Woody, whom he found wandering the highway in Atlanta when filming Lawless and brought home to London. “I’m the finder of dogs, you know what I mean. My missus, she’s like, “You’re not allowed to bring another dog back from a job.” But I’ll always find one. On every job we go on, I’ll either find someone’s dog and look after it, or I’ll take my own dog, or I find a dog and we home it.”
Tom Hardy with one of five pitbull puppies in The Drop at the the film’s premiere.
When filming The Drop with James Gandolfini and Noomi Rapace, Hardy, who played a bartender who finds a pit bull puppy abandoned in the trash, actually method acted and would bring one of the five dogs, J, home with him every night. They even kept each other warm during the cold Brooklyn, New York, winter with Hardy zipping J up in his Canada Goose. Unfortunately, Hardy was banned from bringing J home, but when they later reunited at the film’s premiere, it was a love fest.
Tom Hardy and Max. Photo: charlidos.tumblr.com
Hardy first fell for pups when he met Max. In fact, he wouldn’t go to school unless Max went as well. “My old drama teacher said, ‘I remember when you used to walk into class with your dog in one hand and a can of Coke in the other,’” Hardy told Dogs Today (!) in 2007. “Max was my support unit, it’s like I had a focus; I had an identity and higher self-esteem because something relied on me and loved me constantly. Then I felt important. I can’t stand those kind that fight their dogs, but I wonder how many sleep with their dogs under the covers at night? I’m very, very lucky that people — from 17 to now — have always allowed me to have my dog around.” Sadly, Max passed away in 2011. He was cremated and, shortly thereafter, his ashes were placed in cardboard box on the couch at Hardy’s home, occupying a place Max used to love to hang out. “I might put him in a pillow,” Hardy said.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
