Some comments about Tom from Aussie musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, composer—and occasional film actor—(((Nick Cave))):
___________________________________________
Once Lawless filming commenced, Cave marveled at The Dark Knight Rises’ Tom Hardy and his performance as Forrest. “When we were in rehearsal in Georgia, he said, ‘I want to play Forrest like an old lesbian.’ I went, ‘OK.’ At another point, he said, ‘I’ve changed my mind. Now, I want to play it like the little old lady in Tweety Pie.’ I went, ‘OK…’ But, when he did it, it made sense. What he is, is this woman — a matriarch — trying to hold this fatherless family together,” Cave said.
Throughout the film, Hardy simply grunts where once there was dialogue. “The grunting and that stuff was something that initially mystified everyone, like, ‘What the (expletive) is he doing?’ But, I think he was playing the long game and he understood this character and he understood that when it was cut together, it would be (expletive) incredible. That is what a great actor does. You want someone who is going to come in and blow everyone away. That is what Tom Hardy did.”

