Venom star Tom Hardy loves to improvise – so much so that he even said his favorite scenes were the ad-libbed parts that didn’t make the final cut. What’s more, director Ruben Fleischer is a fan himself of his actor’s antics, and now that Eddie Brock’s first standalone film is busy breaking records at the box office, the Zombieland helmsman continues to sing his praises.
Speaking to Polygon, Fleischer implied that the Venom movie has given Hardy a much-needed outlet for his comedic instincts.
“Tom’s a naturally funny person in his own right and I don’t think that’s ever been showcased,” the filmmaker told the publication. “So I was thrilled that he leaned it.”
Fortunately for Hardy, some of his impromptu moments were actually included in the cinematic release. For one example, Fleischer has previously shown a particular fondness for a scene where a freaked-out Eddie jumps into a lobster tank, and he continued to reflect on this improvised sequence (which the actor apparently got in trouble for) in his conversation with Polygon.
”At that [rehearsal], Tom saw that the production designer had put a giant lobster tank in the center of the restaurant and that was just a true design choice just to make it seem like a fancy restaurant. As soon as Tom sees it, he goes, ‘Well, I’m going to go in the tank,’” the director recounted.
“The designer was like, ‘We didn’t build it for somebody to go in!’” Fleischer continued. “And, you know, they were all live lobsters.”
It’s nice to know that Hardy managed to have some fun during filming, especially in light of a recent report that said the actor stormed off set at one point due to problems he found with the script.
While the critics haven’t been too happy with Venom, the feature’s commercial success suggests that a sequel is most likely on the way, with the symbiote all set for his first encounter with the villainous Carnage. Given the largely positive audience response to the first movie, you can imagine that quite a few filmgoers would be keen to see this clash. And as for Hardy, you better hope that he still has some improv energy left for future installments, since he’s apparently signed on to reprise this role for two more movies.
