Tom Hardy

Scenes Of A Sexual Nature review

Ewan McGregor, Tom Hardy and Sophie Okonedo are big names doing small roles in this pleasant 2006 portmanteau film.

Stag is 'Bullingdon Club meets The Revenant'

Hitting television screens later this week is a brilliant new dark comedy from BBC Two that evokes the likes of Boris Johnson and David Cameron with Tom Hardy and Leonardo DiCaprio on a nightmare weekend in Scotland.

Tom Hardy is the big draw as the hooting jabberfest returns. He's hawking his split-screen, award-baiting new dual role as both Ronnie and Reggie Kray in Legend - although once you've seen his Kray twins compared on social media to Chris Morris and Peter O'Hanraha-hanrahan, you can't unsee it. Also bouncing on to the sofa is Demi Lovato, who hit the ground running on her previous appearance by swigging Dr Pepper straight from a two-litre bottle and cracking jokes about Simon Cowell's chest hair.

The Trip is such a pleasure to look at - from the meals to the wine and the sweeping Italian vistas - that it's easy to forget just how unusual an idea it is. Part improvised comedy, part foodie travelogue, all built around the testy charms of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon playing heightened versions of themselves, outdoing each other with impressions of Michael Caine and Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight, or Parky. They've redefined the idea of what a half-hour sitcom can be, with non-stop gags, and just a hint of drama around the edges - Coogan's son, Brydon's dalliances - to add a touch of pathos in the Italian sunshine.

Following semi-improvised gem The Trip, where Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon played versions of themselves in northern eateries, Michael Winterbottom returns to direct this follow-up, set in rooms containing Italian restaurant-goers. Expect more impersonations, including a superb riff on Tom Hardy's Batman villain Bane stealing Brydon's voiceover work.

Radio Times review

I had some sympathy with those who thought 2010's first series of The Trip was too self-referential and up itself. They'll probably think the same of this second series, where Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan play versions of themselves pootling through Italy dining in high-end restaurants. None of this alters the fact that it's helplessly, hilariously funny.

Both men are obviously a bit older and a bit more aware of the passage of time. Coogan's worried that his career might be hitting the doldrums and that he doesn't have his old pulling-power now that women see him as middle-aged.

He and Brydon have a good-naturedly barbed friendship as they chat amicably over dinner, kicking around each other's insecurities. The best bits are their competitive impressions - Brydon doing a B&Q advert voiceover as Tom Hardy's Batman villain Bane is a hoot.

The Trip To Italy review

The highlight of this first episode was the much trailed Batman scene with the tear-choking Michael Caines and incomprehensible Christian Bales and Tom Hardys. Yet it's extended beyond the online teasers into a dig at Bale's reputation for preciousness and questioning if Hardy could hold a two by four to Brydon's B&Q voiceovers.

Steve Coogan spent most of his time on the original series of The Trip getting irritated by travelling and dining companion Rob Brydon.

But it hasn't put them off embarking on another culinary journey together, this time in Italy.

Apparently, much has changed in the lives of the two comedians since their virgin voyage around the Lake District in 2010.

"Rob, tired from the responsibilities of being the father of a young child, is looking for some adventure," reveals a show insider.

"Steve, meanwhile, has been living a life of abstinence and hard work in Los Angeles but, now on a hiatus from his job there, has the time to come back to Europe and wants to see his children."

This second series is again directed by acclaimed documentary maker Michael Winterbottom, and it takes in the stunning scenery of Capri, Tuscany and the Amalfi coast.

Otherwise, it's business as usual, complete with their impersonations of the likes of Tom Hardy - who they're both rubbish at! - Michael Caine and Robert De Niro.

Beautiful views, mouthwatering food and guaranteed sunshine - it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it...

The Jonathan Ross Show turned to big screen talent

This weekend's Jonathan Ross Show had already received its fair share of publicity thanks to Tom Hardy's embarrassment - but ultimately it was Keira Knightley's vodka-drinking antics which stole his thunder.