Just below an actor’s physicality, nothing defines them more than their voice. And few actors of his generation have experimented with as many vocal choices as the remarkable Tom Hardy.
In an interview with MTV, Hardy revealed that he developed Venom’s distinctive voice alongside the film’s writer, who later became the director, Kelly Marcel. When Hardy first signed on for Venom, one of the main challenges was adapting the film for a PG-13 audience. To achieve this, the duo decided to draw inspiration from favorite films of their youth, like The Goonies and Beverly Hills Cop, giving the film a personal touch within Marvel’s expansive universe. For Hardy, however, rap music was also a major influence during his formative years, making it a natural inspiration for his latest on-screen voice.
Hardy waxed poetic about his love for certain 1990s rappers, explaining that he aimed to capture their larger-than-life tonal qualities. Hardy continued, sharing with MTV’s Josh Horowitz, “Venom had to fall in the canon of Busta Rhymes, Method Man, Redman, James Brown, Big — opulent, almost comedic voices that have a serious tone when they want to.”
For Hardy’s casual fans, this connection might come as a pleasant surprise, as it’s not an obvious link between Venom’s voice and these influences. Hardy managed to blend this cocktail of voices into something uniquely his own. For his more dedicated fans, Venom’s relationship with hip-hop has been hiding in plain sight — and no, it’s not just Eminem’s Venom soundtrack song. For those unaware, Tom Hardy himself was once a 1990s rapper.
Yes, that’s right — Tom Hardy has a Hip-hop mixtape floating around YouTube titled Falling On Your Arse in 1999. There’s even an official video for one of the songs, featuring him performing tracks like No Love, No Life. The beats have a lo-fi jazz synth vibe, and the lyrics explore themes of inequality — a true homage to hip-hop culture. Hardy even got a stamp of approval from one of his influences, Busta Rhymes, who appeared in a teaser for Venom: The Last Dance. In the promo, Venom sneaks into Busta’s studio and spits a few rhymes, only to transform back into Eddie Brock and reveal to Busta that he’s a fan. And, yes, Hardy’s verse was actually good.
As for other cameos, Hardy also addressed the absence of an interaction between his Venom and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. He said that while the exact reason is beyond his pay grade, it’s certainly not beyond his interest grade. According to Hardy, the Venom they created was always intended as a character who could stand on his own and fit in within the Marvel universe. While it’s up to the studios to decide, Hardy has been vocal about his enthusiasm for the prospect.
Even though Hardy is still open to revisiting Venom and facing all his nemeses in the Marvel universe, both he and Kelly Marcel have clarified that they have no immediate plans for a fourth film. Their original plan was always a trilogy with a definitive ending. So, while a face-off between Hardy’s Venom and Holland’s Spider-Man looks unlikely at this point, the trilogy is still a major achievement in Hardy’s career. The trilogy has been well-received by fans and critics alike. And even if Hardy’s Venom never battles his main nemesis, he can at least say he lived out his dream of sharing the screen with his main musical influence, Busta Rhymes.
