The popular English actor, producer, and model ‘Edward Thomas Hardy,’ popularly known as ‘Tom Hardy,’ has lots of tattoos on his smokin’ body. His body is a canvass with different tattoos signifying major meaningful events in his life. As a high-profile Hollywood actor, he gives away considerably to charity, which is why he’s among the most influential people in the U.K. today. His influence, distinctive dressing style, and symbolic tattoos, all work together to represent his unique personality.
People who love using their bodies as a canvas for tattoos would agree, that each tattoo is there for a special reason. This reasoning could be anything personal to the individual. For instance, it could be to do with personal life events, people, or spirituality. Similarly, Tom’s tattoos reveal his deeper personality without contradicting his acting career in any way. Each of his tattoos is based on a real-life event already widely publicized through the media. Hence, each of his tattoos compliments his overall personality, instantly. Hats off to the tattooists and their cutting-edge machinery that has yielded such high-quality tattoos on Tom’s body!
In this article, turn by turn, we’ll look at the meanings behind as many Tom Hardy tattoos as we could grasp — Till I Die, Warrior, and all others.
Tom Hardy Tattoos
1. “Leo Knows All” Tattoo
Tom loves to get inked! The list of Tom Hardy’s tattoos grows with every significant event in his life. For example, in early 2018, Tom got the words “Leo Knows All” inked on his bicep after losing a bet against actor Leonardo DiCaprio to do with the prediction of an Oscar nomination. Tom kept to the terms of his bet with Leo, and this tattoo is a predicament of his honesty, friendship, and determination.
2. Tom Hardy’s Back Tattoos
‘Portrait of Tom’s wife Charlotte’ Tattoo
On the left side of Tom Hardy’s well-sculpted back, he’s gotten inked with a nice portrait of his wife. This tattoo, shown circled above in blue, signifies the love he has for his lady.
‘Angel’ & Angel inscription Tattoo
There’s a lot more going on on his back. His wife Charlotte’s portrait was added adjacent to a tattoo of an angel. There’s also an inscription of the word ‘angel’ on his upper back.
‘Dog’s Muzzle’ Tattoo
The prominent dog’s muzzle tattoo on his back signifies his undying love for dogs. More specifically, this particular tattoo is that of Tom Hardy’s pit bull named Max. Tom got this inked in memory of Max after he passed away.
3. ‘His Son’s Portrait’ Tattoo
On his left arm, Tom proudly sports one of his favorite and most important tattoos. It’s a portrait of Madonna (Mary, Jesus’ mother) cradling a baby. The baby in this scenario is Tom Hardy’s son ‘Louis.’ Right below baby Louis’ portrait is an inscription of the number “848,” signifying Louis’s birth date, which is April 8th, 2008. The initials LH, which are placed to the upper right of the baby tattoo, stand for the first and last name of his son Louis Hardy.
4. ‘His Homeland’ Tattoos
‘London City’ Tattoo
The above tattoo of the London skyline is inked on his bicep beneath the tattoo of his son Louis. The patriotic British star loves his country and the bustling city of London in particular. In the panoramic city view tattoo design, most prominently you can see the images of the London Eye, Tower Bridge, and Big Ben, in that order from left to right.
‘British Flag’ Tattoo
The above Union Jack tattoo is a recent addition to Tom’s left pectoral. The Union Jack is the United Kingdom’s national flag, and Tom is proud of his homeland. He was inked this tattoo in Vancouver, Canada, by the artist Bryan Glatiotis in the artist’s Vancouver studio ‘Dark Day Tattoo.’
5. Tom Hardy’s Right Pectoral & Collar Bone Tattoos
‘Marine Corps Number’ Tattoo
The marine corps number tattooed, shown circled above, is Tom’s best mate’s father’s marine corps number.
‘Masks’ Tattoo
The two masks tattooed on Tom Hardy’s chest signify comedy and tragedy. The left mask shows a comedic image, while the one on the right is a “sad look” portraying tragedy.
‘Smile Now Cry Later’ Tattoo
Above the masks’ tattoo, it’s written “smile now” and below it, it’s written, “cry later.” These short descriptions are for the masks. Both the masks and their relevant descriptions reflect the important reminder that there are both happy and tragic moments in life. One should be prepared to accept and deal with both.
6. ‘Scorpion’ Tattoo
This scorpion tattoo on Tom Hardy’s back is one of the first tattoos he got inked on his back. A Scorpion has both positive and negative connotations. The positive significance of a scorpion includes justice, courage, passion, and devotion among others. The negative traits include death, dualism, and betrayal among others.
7. The ‘Sacred Heart’ and ‘Raven’ Tattoos
The sacred heart with a cross tattoo, shown circled in blue above, is inked on Tom’s upper chest towards his underarm. This is symbolic of Catholic devotion. The sacred heart of Jesus signifies “God’s boundless and passionate love for mankind.” Interestingly, the cross came about after the film ‘Warrior.’
The Raven tattoo depicted on his chest is one of the most talked-about Tom Hardy Tattoos. If you look carefully, it’s an image of a black raven with a pale bat image within. The life events this design is devoted to are Tom Hardy’s two famous movies — “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Mad Max”.
8. ‘The Irish Leprechaun’ Tattoo
The Irish Leprechaun tattoo on his right bicep is surrounded by a tribal tattoo on that arm. The Leprechaun signifies Tom’s Irish heritage based on his mom’s side. As per Irish culture, a Leprechaun symbolizes “magic” and “good things in life”. Amazingly, the Leprechaun was his first-ever tattoo and it came at the tender age of 15. He got the tribal design added much later to complement the standalone Leprechaun.
9. ‘Dragon’ Tattoo
When Tom Hardy is wearing a short-sleeved shirt and he swings his arm up, you can see fully, the large-sized beautifully inked tattoo of a dragon on his left upper inside arm. This tattoo is dedicated to his first spouse Sarah Ward. As per the Chinese calendar, Sarah was born in the year of the Dragon. A fire-breathing dragon signifies power, strength, and aggressiveness.
Right beneath the dragon the name of Tom’s agent ‘Lindy King’ is inked along with a crown symbol. This addition to the dragon tattoo area is independent in meaning to the significance of the dragon. The name ‘Lindy King’ was tattooed with due respect to her. Tom had promised her he would get her name inked on his body if she managed to get him into Hollywood. Tom kept his promise post his entry into Hollywood.
10. “Till I Die SW” Tattoo
The inscription “Till I die SW” has been tattooed on the right side of Tom Hardy’s lower abdomen since the year 1999. The significance of this tattoo dates back to the time when Tom was in a relationship with Sarah Ward. They got married in 1999 and were later divorced in 2004.
11. “Padre Fiero” and “Figlio Mio Bellissimo”Tattoos
The words ‘padre fiero’ mean “proud father” in Italian. These emotional words are inked on the right side of Tom’s collar bone.
The Italian words ‘figlio mio bellissimo’ are inked on the lower side of Tom’s right bicep. These words mean “my beautiful son.” Tom loves his son so much that we won’t be surprised to see more such tattoos being added to his body soon.
12. ‘Wolf’ Tattoo
The tattoo of an angry wolf on Tom’s inner left forearm is inspired by his role in the movie Revenant. Further to that, the Wolf denotes savagery and loyalty.
13. ‘Feather’ Tattoo
On Tom’s right tricep, there’s a tattoo of a feather along with the word ‘Scribe’. Both these designs are placed above a letter ‘W’ tattoo. The feather and the word scribe are devoted to his scriptwriter friend Kelly Marcell. The ‘W’ is dedicated to Tom’s ex-wife Sarah Ward, and it represents the initial of her last name.
14. ‘Skull and Hat’ Tattoo
The pipe-smoking skull with a magician’s hat is tattooed on Tom Hardy’s outer left forearm. When death is smiling at us, it’s a reminder that we should have a great time before dying. It’s a reminder that birth and death are both inevitable. We should be making the best out of our lives before it’s time to bid adieu. To Tom, it’s all about creating magic in life through his art as an actor and otherwise.
15. ‘Star’ Tattoo
As shown circled in the above picture, Tom got himself a ‘star’ tattooed on his left shoulder at the good news that his ex-girlfriend, Rachel Speed, had got pregnant.
16. Buddha’ Tattoo
The cross tattoos Tom has on his shoulder signify his devotion towards his faith. Similarly, the Buddha on the side of Tom’s stomach represents peace, devotion, and a meditated mind. It also shows us that Tom Hardy is a broad-minded individual who respects all walks of life.
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