Tom Hardy's late 90s rap mixtape resurfaces

We love Tom Hardy. Whether he's playing sensitive brutes in films like Mad Max: Fury Road and Warrior, reading bedtime stories on CBeebies with his adorable dog or posing in his Y-fronts on his gloriously goofy MySpace page, he’s an actor who’s proved endlessly endearing over the years. And now it turns out his flirtation with a rap career in the late 90s was similarly winning.

He’s mentioned his music aspirations before. In 2011, BBC Newsbeat got the scoop that he’s been rapping since he was a teenager and caught the attention of some major players in the music business. “I used to be with the guy who managed Leela James and Lauryn Hill, Pras, the Fugees and all that,” he said. “I worked out with (Grammy-winning producers) Warren Riker and Gordon Williams. I’ve recorded loads of stuff but it’s never been released.”

Well now it has. A mixtape Hardy made under the moniker Tommy No 1 with Eddie Too Tall (aka Edward Tracy, now a BAFTA-winning television writer and director) has just resurfaced on Bandcamp, and it’s a sunny blast of fun. Called Falling on Your Arse in 1999, Eddie Too Tall has posted the album with the following message: “Made in a bedroom 1999, these mixtapes were never really finished.” Take a listen below and brighten up your Friday afternoon.