Tom Hardy: I couldn't kill anyone in real life

(Greg Williams)

Throughout his 14 years in Hollywood, Tom Hardy has developed a reputation as a wild man, one constantly on the brink.

But as the “Mad Max: Fury Road” star, 37, told Details magazine, that’s not who he is at all, it’s just the persona that’s been created by a slew of volatile roles.

“Mystery is very healthy in this business anyway,” he told the magazine. “Why wouldn’t I capitalize on mystery? If you look at the old movie stars, you didn’t know anything about them. It allowed them to transform and shape-shift into different characters. It was easier to believe what somebody is if you don’t know anything about them.”

For example, while he’s played plenty of brutal characters, Hardy could never actually bring himself to kill someone or something.

“I have a problem with killing—otherwise I’d be doing it. I have a fundamental issue with killing something. I can’t do it. I’ve tried, trust me. It’s not easy,” he said. “I don’t like hunting. I don’t see the point in killing another being. This is the paradox of the double bind, right? ‘Cause I love the military. It would be a gross act of f—–g negligence, spiritually, to go and get on a plane and find myself in a place where I took somebody’s life.”

For some reason, though, when it comes to Hardy, people have a lot of trouble distancing the artist from his craft.

“There’s things I haven’t really experienced, so I’m just acting,” he said. “But elements of danger? Yeah, there’s a truth to that. There’s an absolute truth to that. But am I dangerous? Absolutely not. Am I insane? Absolutely not. But do I go to places which are scary and uncomfortable for some people? Yes.”

This article originally appeared in the New York Post.