Tom Hardy talks about Forrest and stealing inspiration:
When we asked him about Forrest Bondurant, the mumbling, masculine bootlegger with a surprisingly soft centre, Hardy told us, “Forrest is a matriarch, he’s a mother. I don’t think it’s being macho, I don’t think that’s what masculinity is.”
So how did the bulky Brit get into character as the cigar-chewing Prohibition bad boy? Studying historical tomes? Going method? “No, I watch Come Dine With Me!”
He’s not joking. “I really do like Come Dine With Me,” he added earnestly. “It’s great people-watching. I’ll steal characters from Come Dine With Me. Because they’re real people. I take something from everybody. I’ll steal you at some point…
Cuddly bastard.