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Tom Hardy isn’t just an action star on the big screen: He can throw down in real life, too.
The 45-year-old actor made a surprise appearance at the 2022 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open Championship in Milton Keynes, England over the weekend and ultimately walked away with the top prize, The Guardian reports.
The “Venom” and “Mad Max: Fury Road” star entered the tournament under his real name, Edward Hardy, and according to tournament organizers was a “real pleasure” to have participated.
In an interview with local media, one of Hardy’s opponents said he was “shell shocked” to come face to face with the Academy Award-nominated actor.
“I recognized him straightaway. Everyone knows who Tom Hardy is, don’t they?” competitor Danny Appleby told Teesside Live. “I was shell-shocked. He said, ‘Just forget it’s me and do what you would normally do’.”
Hardy has been involved in the world of mixed martial arts for years and is a blue belt. In 2011′s hit film “Warrior,” he played an MMA fighter and put on 28 pounds of muscle for the role.