Kids at a Crawley high school – and not to mention their mothers – got the surprise of their lives today when none other than Tom Hardy rocked up to join their sports day.
The Revenant actor, 47, decided to dip into the fun at Oriel High School’s sports day at K2 Leisure Centre in the West Sussex town, and snaps were taken of the unlikely moment.
The pictures, posted on This is Crawley’s Facebook page, show the Hammersmith-born actor wearing glasses and a grey vest top, with his tattoo-laden arms on show.
Two men and two women, all dressed up for the sports day occasion with matching t-shirts, grinned at either side of the world-famous actor.
Naturally, the comments section lit up, with many local women joking that they are immediately joining the K2 gym.
‘I’ve never wanted to move back home and join a gym so much in my life!’ said Claire Lesson.
Maxine Harrison said: ‘Might have to go collect my son from sports day now…..2 hours early!!’
‘Was making a pit stop on his way to mine,’ joked Kim Pullen, while Romana Branch simply said: ‘Starting to look like Gary Liniker.’
Unluckily for all Tom’s enthusiastic fans, the Mad Max actor is very much settled down with his wife of 11 years, Charlotte Riley.
The couple welcomed two children together – born in 2015 and 2019 – though they are kept very much out of the public eye.
Tom also shares his eldest child, Louis Thomas, 17, with his ex-girlfriend Rachael Speed.
It was previously reported that in 2018 Tom and Charlotte moved out of London to enjoy a more private life in the Surrey countryside.
Before the move – reportedly due to fears over a stalker – the pair were living in a Richmond house, reported to be worth £3.5million.
Speaking to Esquire magazine at the time, he said of London life: ‘If someone takes a photo of my kids, all bets are off. I will take the camera off you and beat the f***ing s**t out of you.’
He added that when he walks around London he knows he sticks out like a sore thumb.
‘It’s like spotting a giraffe walking down the street. I get it. I can see people’s behaviour, I can see when a camera’s coming, I can see when a phone is moving, I can see people’s body language,’ he said.
‘There is no difference between that and a weapon.The hyper-vigilance. It’s just odd. But [pictures of my] kids are a f***ing no. They really are. And that’s what really bothers me, and it will fast-track me immediately to respond like any father in any situation, regardless of where they come from and what they’ve been through.’
In a 2015 interview with Hello!, Tom opened up about how welcoming his first child Louis had changed him.
‘Being a father has given me the kind of purpose that makes you think more carefully about how you live your life,’ he said.
‘I made a lot of mistakes, and I put my mum and dad through a lot because they were so worried about me.
‘I take great pride in being a father and make sure I’m there for him and helping him as he makes his way in the world.’
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