Tom Hardy to Star as Explorer Ernest Shackleton in New Biopic

Tom Hardy to star as explorer Ernest Shackleton in Heyday Films’ new biopic

According to Variety, Academy Award nominee Tom Hardy has officially signed on for the titular role in the long-in development biographical drama film titled Shackleton, which will center on the life of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. In partnership with David Heyman’s Heyday Films, Hardy will also be serving as a producer along with Dean Baker through their Hardy Son & Baker banner.

“Tom and I were always fascinated by Shackleton as a leader and his contagious optimism and absolute belief in his team,” Baker said in a statement. “At a time where leaders seem to be more about self than society, Shackleton sacrificed his own needs to ensure the wellbeing of his team – thats inspirational.”

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Sir Ernest Shackleton is a legendary polar explorer during the 1900s as he led three expeditions to the Antarctic. His most famous expedition was the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition that lasted from 1914-1917 where Shackleton’s ship named Endurance was crushed in the pack ice and Shackleton led his crew on a months-long journey in sub-zero temperatures until they reached solid ground.

For his achievements as a explorer, he was knighted by King Edward VII and was awarded with medals such as the Polar Medal and the Allied Victory Medal. At the age of 47, Shackleton died in 1922 due to a fatal heart attack.

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The Shackleton film will be written by Peter Straughan with Heyday Films, who is the production company behind Oscar nominated films A Marriage Story and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Studiocanal collaborating again to produce the film. This project will be latest collaboration between Heyday Films and Studiocanal are also currently working together on the upcoming film adaptation of Pippi Longstocking.

Tom Hardy is best known for his iconic roles in critically-acclaimed and blockbuster films such as Mad Max: Fury Road, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises and The Revenant. He will next be seen films such as: the biopic crime film Fonzo, portraying the role of notorious American gangster Al Capone who bears the alias of Scarface; and in Sony Pictures’ Venom sequel, reprising his role as Eddie Brock.

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