Tom Hardy has revealed that he doesn't "feel very manly" despite his reputation as a 'tough guy'.
The actor posed shirtless for the latest issue of Esquire, and described himself as just a "petit little bourgeois boy from London".
Speaking about his macho image, he told the magazine: "I don't feel very manly. I don't feel rugged and strong and capable in real life, not how I imagine a man ought to be.
"So I seek it, to mimic it and maybe understand it, or maybe to draw it into my own reality. People who are scary, they terrify me, but I can imitate them.
"I'm not a fighter. I'm a petit little bourgeois boy from London. I don't fight, I mimic," he added.
The Dark Knight Rises actor went to rehab in 2003 to tackle his addiction to drink and drugs, and has remained clean ever since.
He said: "I was a shameful suburban statistic. I was told very clearly, 'You go down that road, Tom, you won't come back. That's it. All you need to know'.
"And that message stayed with me very clearly for the rest of my days. The beginning, really, of a new life. I couldn't value life until I risk losing something worth more to me than my behaviour.
"I am f**king lucky to be here, to be honest."
Hardy also dismissed claims that he has an ongoing feud with actress Charlize Theron, after it was rumoured that they clashed while working on Mad Max in 2012.
Addressing the rumours, he said: "That's disappointing. I think she's f**king awesome. I think she's incredible. I think she's one of the most talented actresses of our generation."
The full interview appears in Esquire's May issue, on sale now. Also available as a digital edition.
