Tom Hardy MMA training: Actor details gruesome routine that made him a 'nightmare' to deal with

English actor and producer Tom Hardy is one of Hollywood's leading and most acclaimed artists. The actor is well-known for his gritty and versatile portrayals across multiple genres.

Although he made his debut in Ridley Scott's iconic Black Hawk Down in 2001, Hardy began to find himself in the spotlight later on in the decade. His sports action movie Warrior from 2011 was centered around a mixed martial arts setting.

Hardy plays Thomas 'Tommy' Riordan, a returning US Marine who learns about his mixed martial arts talent and battles his complicated relationships with his father and brother.

Hardy put on 13 kilograms (28 pounds) of muscle for the movie and underwent demanding training. He outlined his rigorous regimen in an interview with The Guardian's Stuart Jeffries.

“I did two hours boxing a day, two hours muay thai, two hours ju jitsu followed by two hours choreography and two hours of weightlifting seven days a week for three months. So come on! You have to really want to do that, so it was a challenge. Jiu jitsu is very Buddhist. All that we fear we hold close to ourselves to survive. So if you’re drowning and you see a corpse floating by, hang on to it because it will rescue you.” [h/t The Guardian]

Tom Hardy put in multiple hours each day in boxing, Muay Thai, and jiu-jitsu. He combined these practices with heavy weightlifting over a consistent three-month period that resulted in a ripped physique that he showed off in Warrior and later on as Bane in Christopher Nolan's 2012 feature, The Dark Knight Rises.

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Tom Hardy wins gold medal at Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament

Tom Hardy is a passionate mixed martial arts practitioner and is known to train Brazilian jiu-jitsu at Gracie-affiliated training schools regularly.

Hardy has also competed in various competitions and tournaments and found success in them. One of his most recent accomplishments came at the UMAC Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open Championships last year.

Hardy entered the competition as Edward Hardy and destroyed his competition to stand atop the highest podium and win his weight class.

Check out his gold medal podium moment below:

Hardy followed that up with another gold medal at the REORG Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition. He is also the lead ambassador for the organization.