Tom Hardy offers to cover over $300K in crew wages as set construction company collapses before Christmas
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: Heroes don’t always wear capes - sometimes, they’re rugged, charming, and covered in Venom. Yep, we’re talking about British heartthrob Tom Hardy, who stepped in with a chef’s kiss of a gesture that made him the talk of the town (yet again).
The 47-year-old reportedly offered to cover a whopping $315,000 to help out workers who had built sets for his new Paramount+ series, 'Fixer'. The construction company that hired these workers, Helix 3D, went belly-up without paying them - despite Paramount already footing the bill.
Tom Hardy's real-life hero moment
Tom Hardy wasn’t about to let these workers go unpaid, especially with Christmas around the corner.
A leaked WhatsApp message from early December revealed the ugly truth: Helix 3D had no money to pay its contractors. Hardy, who apparently swooped in like a real-life action hero, offered to personally bankroll the workers’ wages to save their holidays, as per The Times.
"He offered to [pay]," a source close to the actor spilled. But before Hardy had to crack open his wallet, Paramount and the show’s production company 101 Studios jumped in to sort things out.
According to a Paramount insider, the studio was "outraged" when they heard about the situation and worked quickly to ensure the workers got their dues.
While the big guys eventually fixed things, it’s clear that the 'Warrior' star's heart was in the right place - and that’s what makes him a bona fide legend.
Before the crisis was resolved, a broadcasting union official representing the set workers, Chris Hudson, wrote a scathing letter obtained by The Times, calling out the mess and demanding justice.
"Our members deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and compensated on time for their work. It is wholly unacceptable that they are facing significant financial precarity, particularly ahead of Christmas,” Hudson wrote.
He added, "This close to Christmas, our members are rightly very distressed, with many fearing they will be unable to cover necessities. I trust you can appreciate the significant impact this is also having on their mental health."
Hudson also dragged Helix 3D for their lack of communication.
"What does seem to have been avoidable was the lack of foresight that this situation could occur, given the serious financial trouble Helix was in. What was also avoidable is the lack of information and transparency granted to our members throughout their employment as to Helix’s current state of affairs," the union official noted.
Hollywood's other golden hearts
Of course, Tom Hardy isn’t the only Hollywood star who deserves a halo.
Ryan Reynolds, everyone’s favorite smart-mouthed superhero, has proven he’s just as noble behind the scenes. During the filming of 'Deadpool', Reynolds gave up his paycheck to ensure his co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick could stay on set.
He explained, "I let go of getting paid to do the movie just to put it back on the screen. They wouldn’t allow my co-writers... on set, so I took the little salary I had left and paid them to be on set with me so we could form a de facto writers room."
And then there’s Keanu Reeves, who could run a masterclass in generosity.
The actor has a long history of doing the most for his colleagues and fans. He gifted Rolex watches to the 'John Wick' stunt team, handed out Harley Davidson motorcycles to 'The Matrix Reloaded' stunt crew, and has even taken pay cuts to fund special effects and bring in big-name co-stars, according to the Daily Mail.
For those curious, 'Fixer' is Hardy’s upcoming series directed by Guy Ritchie. It’s all about two warring families whose empires span the globe.
In the Paramount+ series, Hardy stars as Harry Da Souza, a "fixer" tasked with handling the dirty work for one of these power-hungry clans. Big names like Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan have joined the 'Venom' actor, and filming is underway in London.
