![Tom seems to have absorbed the character completely,” says [Alexander Masters]. “On and off set, he lived the character. I’m astonished at how well he managed to portray Stuart’s humour. He was an extremely funny man with so many insights. It took me a long time to get the tone of the TV production right, to get the right balance between the pathos and the humour. But Tom has managed to capture the complexity beautifully. That’s an incredibly difficult thing to do, I think.”
Hardy’s affinity with Stuart was no less personal. “I had a lot in common with Stuart, with the exception of a couple of very serious experiences – specifically the child abuse he suffered, and the muscular dystrophy. Everything else I have full comprehension of,” he says. “I could relate to the drugs and his attitude at points, too – d’you know what I mean? There were a lot of similarities between us. I thought ‘Oh, oh, oh [he bounces up and down on the sofa in excitement, his trainers pitter-pattering on the carpet], I can bring something to this!’ It came from my own baggage.”
- about Stuart a Life Backwards from The Times.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9rtzs6oEm1qe5f96o1_500.jpg)
Tom seems to have absorbed the character completely,” says [Alexander Masters]. “On and off set, he lived the character. I’m astonished at how well he managed to portray Stuart’s humour. He was an extremely funny man with so many insights. It took me a long time to get the tone of the TV production right, to get the right balance between the pathos and the humour. But Tom has managed to capture the complexity beautifully. That’s an incredibly difficult thing to do, I think.”
Hardy’s affinity with Stuart was no less personal. “I had a lot in common with Stuart, with the exception of a couple of very serious experiences – specifically the child abuse he suffered, and the muscular dystrophy. Everything else I have full comprehension of,” he says. “I could relate to the drugs and his attitude at points, too – d’you know what I mean? There were a lot of similarities between us. I thought ‘Oh, oh, oh [he bounces up and down on the sofa in excitement, his trainers pitter-pattering on the carpet], I can bring something to this!’ It came from my own baggage.”
- about Stuart a Life Backwards from The Times.
