Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures
You got the voice down perfectly even without the mask, but you still don’t feel half as bad-ass as Batman’s antagonist in The Dark Knight. So, we take a look at how to get yourself to look like the Bane actor, or how people who haven’t been living under a rock call him – Tom Hardy. One of the few biggest movie stars on the planet became known for his body transformations, second only behind the actual Batman – Christopher Bale.
Bane is one of the most colossal and imperious characters in recent action movies, despite Tom Hardy being listed at the height of 5′ 9”. This look was, of course, achieved through “movie magic” with smaller props, perspective, and framing, but Hardy had to do his part also. Luckily for him, he already had the experience of becoming a man-mammoth for his 2008 movie Bronson. He had to put on 7 lbs per week to portray the menacing Bronson, and Hardy claims he managed to do that without steroids, eating chicken and rice every day, followed by pizza, Häagen-Dazs, and Coca-Cola. So he wasn’t keeping it healthy, yet he managed to come out looking ripped. And while he did the preparation for that role on what is basically a prison workout, the specifications for Bane were quite different.
He needed to look like the first Batman’s opponent who is stronger than the seemingly unstoppable Dark Knight. Before shooting Hardy was weighing 170,8 lbs, and he had three months to add up 30 lbs of muscle. That’s 12 lbs less than what he had to put on for Bronson, and without the experience and muscle memory, he gathered playing the infamous prisoner.
How to Look Like the Bane Actor – Nutrition
Still, eating was a huge part of the deal for accomplishing this task, and while there isn’t concrete information on what Hardy ate exactly, his diet probably wasn’t a lot different from what he did previously for Bronson. Maybe some less Coca-Cola, more protein shakes, but the intake of calories had to be bigger than 4,000 per day. You would also need to raise up your caloric intake, which could range from 4,000 to 6,000 depending on your size. But since you’re not in a hurry to meet the deadline of filming, aim for the lower parts of the range.
Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures
Let’s take a look at Bane’s physique, his legs are never seen in the movie which will, unfortunately, cheer up those who skip leg day professionally, so the focus is on the upper body. Although that doesn’t mean that you should skip legs, as working them out will boost your testosterone since they are the largest muscle group, and hence you’ll achieve your goals faster.
Interestingly, Hardy looked more ripped as Bronson than he did as Bane, and he was particularly ripped while playing an MMA fighter in the Warrior (2011). As Bane, Hardy has that more old school strong look, a physique that looks chiseled out not in the gym, but by working physical jobs. That’s not the case obviously, yet that’s the “look” it has.
His abs are barely visible, they look like a one-pack more than anything, and the emphasis is on the back, but especially traps, with arms and chest being moderately sized.
Huge, cobra-like traps are already a signature point of Hardy’s transformations, he had massive ones in all his physical roles, and that’s because they are a way to make up for his height. Even the jacket Bane wears plays into this as it has a pretty tall collar, making the terrorist look domineering.
When it comes to the actual Bane workout Hardy did, his long -time trainer believes in a system he calls signaling in which the body is trained in small 20-minute increments, four times during a day. But realistically that’s not going to be possible for anybody besides professional athletes, actors, and retired millionaires.
Photo: Arnaldo Magnani (Getty Images)
There isn’t an actual Bane workout plan out there on the internet, there are basically just guesses some fitness experts make and attach it to the moniker of Bane since they know it is popular and sought. They will get your results, as almost any routine will if you’re consistent, but to claim like that’s exactly why Hardy did is somewhat unethical.
Even if it’s out there, and for some movie characters there are available, disclosed routines, they still won’t get you the exact results you saw, because you won’t be carrying the movie magic with you at all times. The price for it could be also big, as Hardy is on the record saying that some of his joints click due to the weight he put on for this role and that picking up his kids became harder.
If you’re really hang up on looking like the Bane actor, basically emphasize working on your traps and back, eat a lot, buy a similar jacket, and maybe shave your head.
