Tom Hardy: ‘Mad Max’ Actor Says He Has ‘No Obligation To Share’ His Sexuality

Tom Hardy is not interested in discussing his sexuality, saying he has “no obligation” to talk about it with anyone at any time, MSN reports. The remarks come a week after the Mad Max actor shut down an interviewer who asked him about it.

You may recall that last week, an interviewer from Daily Xtra, a Toronto LGBT publication, asked Hardy — who has played gay, straight, and bi-sexual characters in his career — if he thought it was difficult for actors to discuss their sexuality. Taken aback, Hardy asked the interviewer what he was getting at. From there, things got awkward. You can watch the exchange in the video below.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, Hardy makes it clear that he’s less upset with the question about his sexuality than he is with the context in which it was asked.

“There should be elegant ways to approach any topic, and there’s a time and place to approach anything and have a good, common sense conversation about anything… But that was a public forum, and for someone to inelegantly ask a question that seemed designed entirely to provoke a reaction, and start a topic of debate… To be quite frank, it’s rude.”

Although Hardy isn’t open about his sexuality, the fact that he is married to a woman should put the question to rest (to be fair, no one but Tom Hardy knows what goes on behind closed doors). Nevertheless, the Daily Xtra reporter cited a 2008 interview in which Hardy admitted to same-sex sexual encounters as a boy. However, in that same interview, Hardy stated, “I’m not into men sexually.”

Still, Hardy considers the subject of his personal life, especially his sexuality, taboo, at least when it comes to the media.

“I think everybody is entitled to the right to privacy… I’m under no obligation to share anything to do with my family, my children, my sexuality — that’s nobody’s business but my own. And I don’t see how that can have anything to do with what I do as an actor, and it’s my own business.”

Not everybody is on board with the idea that Tom Hardy’s personal life is personal. Writing in Huffington Post Gay Voices, writer Noah Michelson opines that one’s sexuality should not be a secret, especially when it comes to high-profile public figures like Hardy.

“While watching variations of ‘Tom’s right! It’s nobody’s business!’ and ‘That’s private!’ flood comment fields, tweets and Facebook statuses, I sighed and thought to myself, ‘Really? Are we really still defending — and celebrating! — the idea that sexual orientation is akin to some deep dark secret to be discussed after dark behind closed doors in hushed tones with only our most trusted confidantes?’ Sexual orientation should not be considered private.“

Do you think Tom Hardy was right to shut down a reporter who asked about his sexuality? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

[Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images]