Bikeriders Star Austin Butler Opens Up About His Surprising Bond With Tom Hardy

After his standout role as Elvis Presley, Austin Butler has switched gears to play Benny, a key figure in the 1960s Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club in the film Bikeriders. Directed by Jeff Nichols, the movie also stars Tom Hardy as Johnny, a character who leans on Benny as he builds the gang. This film marks Butler and Hardy’s first collaboration, and their on set chemistry has caught attention. In a recent chat with Entertainment Weekly, Butler spoke about his first impressions about meeting Hardy on set and revealed uncertainty if they’d get along.

Although he was initially unsure, the Dune: Part Two star found Hardy to be incredibly funny and claimed he made him laugh more than anyone else. Butler said, “You never know when you meet your heroes if you’re going to get along. And Tom makes me laugh harder than almost anyone in this world.”

Surprisingly, not just Austin Butler, but producer Sarah Green also didn’t know what to expect from Tom Hardy and how he’d play his character in Bikeriders. Green explained, “We didn’t know what he was going to sound like. When he first opened his mouth, it was like, we all went, ‘What? That’s so wild.’ There was a little Marlon Brando in there, I think there was a little Jimmy Cagney in there. It worked so well for us.”

At the premiere, another producer described the Venom star as surprisingly friendly and compared him with a “teddy bear” in conversation with Variety. Austin Butler agreed and called Hardy a “sweetheart.” Damon Herriman, on the other hand, had expected Hardy to be “scary” but he was quite the opposite. The actor recalled that Hardy would often greet everyone on set saying “How ya doing, mate? You alright?” and even offered hugs.

Bikeriders is inspired by Danny Lyon’s 1967 photo book of the same name and it follows the journey of a fictional motorcycle club. Set in the 1960s, the film focuses on the original members over time as they witness the club’s growth and changes.

Other than Austin Butler, Tom Hardy and Damon Herriman, Jeff Nichols’ directorial also stars Jodie Comer, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist, Boyd Holbrook, Beau Knapp, Emory Cohen, Karl Glusman, Toby Wallace and Norman Reedus in key roles.