How Tom Hardy Overcame His Crack Addiction To Become A Hollywood Star

Addiction doesn't care who you are or where you come from.

Once it takes hold of you there's almost no letting go.

However, for "Mad Max" star Tom Hardy, he can say today that he successfully overcame his rough battle with both drugs and alcohol and has been clean since 2003.

You know him as Bane in "Dark Knight Rises."

Today, the 37-year-old Englishman is thankful he was able to put his troubles behind as he now enjoys the prime of his acting career.

Despite an affluent upbringing in the racky East Sheen suburb of London, with an artist mother and a comedic writer father, trouble still found Tom Hardy early on.

Just how bad was his addiction when he was getting started in Hollywood?

In an interview with Yahoo! New Zealand, Hardy admitted there was a point during his early-to-mid-20s that drugs were more important than his own family.

I would have sold my mother for a rock of crack. I was a shameful suburban statistic.

Of course, leaving home and surrounding yourself with a completely new environment and people is always a recipe for starting new habits.

He began losing control of his life, doing drugs and getting into fights.

It wasn't until both his appearance and behavior started to change that people began to take notice.

He said in the Yahoo! interview,

People didn't sit up and take any notice of me until I Started putting on weight, kicking people and being aggressive! The trouble with Hollywood is that they want you to be something, then they think you're who they wanted you to be. I'm not a fighter. I'm a petite, little, bourgeois boy from London.

Tom Hardy checked himself into rehab in 2003 and hasn't looked back since.

According to News Oxy, Hardy hit rock bottom when he woke up in a pool of his own blood and vomit in his hotel room.

2003 was the year he turned his life around and used his own mistakes to teach himself a valuable lesson, and in turn, saved his own life.

He said,

I was told very clearly, 'You go down that road, Tom, you won't come back. That's it. All you need to know'. And that message stayed with me clearly for the rest of my days. I am f*cking lucky to be here, to be honest.

Today, Hardy is married with a child and continues his successful acting career.

Tom Hardy will be the first to say giving up an addiction is not easy, and every day will be a struggle.

But your career, family and health are never more important than getting your fix.

Don't do drugs, kids. Tom Hardy will whoop your ass if you do.