This is Tom Hardy’s moment–this guy’s everywhere. The British actor who became known to American audiences a couple of years ago for his turn in Nicholas Winding Refn’s 2008 feature film “Bronson” (see our review here) has since appeared in some big-budget pictures and seems to follow the same path as Jason Statham. Hardy will appear next as Bane in Christopher Nolan’s next and final “Batman” installment “The Dark Knight Rises.”

The funny thing is that there’s a little bit of the joker in Hardy’s performances as actor, whether he plays Bronson or a British gangster in one of those Granada T.V. productions. Hardy plays villains possessed of a sinister wit, a raging destructiveness, that’s terrifying, and he does so rather convincingly.

Before turning to the trailer, it’d be good to mention that Nolan has put together an exceptional cast of actors for his finale: Michael Caine, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Ann Hathaway–“The Dark Knight” rises TRAILER.