Tom Hardy Will Brave The Antarctic For Ernest Shackleton Biopic

Tom Hardy teaming up with ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ writer for Ernest Shackleton role

With 2015’s The Revenant still stuck in our minds, the wilderness survival sub-genre couldn’t be in a better place than it is now. That film was an incredible achievement because it showed the unbelievable dedication that people have in creating a gruelingly realistic epic like that one. And stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy were a major part of the film’s success in more ways than one. Despite the two already being very gifted actors, the film’s real-world sets reinforced just how much they were sacrificing to deliver a great piece of art.

After watching it, you would think someone like Hardy would want some time off from enduring such harsh conditions. Nope, that’s not how the guy works. Besides his exciting presence in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk next summer, news came from Deadline that Hardy is set to appear as Antarctica explorer Ernest Shackleton in a new biopic. Although no director is attached yet, Peter Straughan (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) will be tackling the script. While we may not know right now what the biopic will be focusing on specifically, it’s fair to guess it will center around the Arctic expedition where Shackleton faced his greatest adversary.

On one of his three acclaimed expeditions, Shackleton and his men suffered a catastrophic disaster when their ship was destroyed by ice floes. But Shackleton somehow managed to keep everyone alive in subzero temperatures on their journey to safety. It’s a story that seems perfect for a cinematic retelling, especially now that the talented Tom Hardy is aboard.

Another exciting part about the project is that its uncommon shooting location should make for some stunning visuals. Because of Antarctica’s conditions, a Shackleton biopic has been shelved until now because the idea of actually producing the film in a realistic way seemed impossible to most. Luckily, times have changed, and so it’s only a matter of time before Hardy and his fellow partners brave that brutal winter cold. Along with his Oscar-nominated performance in The Revenant, Hardy has appeared in a number of films that have a wilderness setting. Last year he also appeared in the highly acclaimed Mad Max: Fury Road, which was an amazing action adventure that was shot entirely in the Australian Outback.

Hardy is among the few top dogs in Hollywood that are willing to endure life-threatening conditions just to tell an important story. And a biopic surrounding the life and times of Shackleton definitely fits into that category. He’s a man that truly deserves more recognition for both his courage in leading his men to safety and the mysterious land that he voluntarily chose to research for the sake of the world.

The enormous directing challenge for the film will hopefully attract some big names. Because of the casting news, it should only be a short time before others join the project as well. Stay tuned as more information becomes available.

The Ernest Shackleton biopic is without a release date; it should probably hit sometime in 2018.