Tom Hardy inspired by Kermit

(Cover) - EN Movies - Tom Hardy takes inspiration from stars ranging from Robert De Niro to Kermit the Frog.

The British actor appears in the hotly-anticipated film The Dark Knight Rises. He is playing hulking villain Bane and has revealed how he gets into character for his movies.

"When I build certain characters, [I] take a soupcon of different things. Like Kermit the Frog. I'll put a bit of Kermit in there,” he told Total Film. “I'll take Robert De Niro from Taxi Driver, mix him up with animals and different characters, add a voice and then go home. I know my guy. He has a lot of people in it."

Tom went on to insist there is no element of the famous green Muppet in his performance as the physically intimidating Bane, who is one of Batman’s greatest adversaries.

"No, there's no Kermit in Bane. Absolutely f**king not!" Tom laughed.

Christopher Nolan directs The Dark Knight Rises and has been speaking about helming the franchise for the final time.

He admits there is a lot of pressure on the cast and crew to deliver another blockbuster movie, following the success of The Dark Knight – which saw Heath Ledger pick up a posthumous Oscar for his haunting performance as the Joker.

“We feel a tremendous challenge and responsibility to finish our story,” Christopher explained. “We have to give the audience something they haven’t seen before, but also fulfil their expectations of what they enjoyed in the first two films. That’s the tricky balance with a sequel.”

The Dark Knight Rises will be released worldwide in July and sees Christian Bale play Batman for the final time.