Fans of Tom Hardy are only now realizing that the Hollywood star has a little-known side hustle — and it’s not what you might expect.
The 46-year-old actor has had a secret career for more than two decades, starting in the late 1990s before he even hit the big screen.
Although he’s best known for his work in cult films and mainstream blockbusters like Mad Max, The Revenant and Venom, this little-known career project requires him to take on an alter ego.
While working on his other passion, Tom ditches his famous name and goes by Frankie Pulitzer.
Shocked fans have been flooding social media lately as they discovered the star’s surprising career outside the acting world – but can you guess what it is?
Tom Hardy fans are only now realizing that the Hollywood star has a little-known side hustle – and it’s not what you’d expect (pictured on Tuesday night)
Although he’s best known for his work in cult films and mainstream blockbusters like Mad Max, The Revenant and Venom, this little-known career project requires him to adopt an alter ego.
The movie star previously secretly made waves in the hip-hop scene as a rapper, making music under the pseudonym Frankie Pulitzer, after originally being known as Tommy No.1.
In 1999, before breaking into the entertainment industry, the actor recorded a mixtape with writer and director Edward Tracey, also known as Eddie Too Tall.
The BAFTA-winning star’s 18-track tape, titled Falling on Your A**e, was the start of his promising music career, with Tom rapping and Edward providing the beat.
Speaking about their collaboration, Edward told Complex in 2018: ‘At the time we were offered a record deal based on this album, but Tom’s agent said, “No, don’t do music, act.”
The rap mixtape has surfaced every now and then over the years, most recently in 2018 Bandcampin an attempt to persuade the star to go on tour.
After releasing music with Eddie Too Tall, the Venom actor adopted the nickname Frankie Pulitzer, a moniker he kept even as his acting career reached dizzying heights.
In 2021, Czarface, an American hip-hop supergroup consisting of Boston-based duo 7L & Esoteric and Wu-Tang Clan’s Inspectah Deck, released an album called Good Guys, Bad Guys.
It featured music from the film Venom: Let There Be Carnage, in which Tom plays the lead role.
The BAFTA-winning star’s 18-track tape entitled Falling on Your A**e was the start of his promising music career, with Tom rapping and Edward providing the beat.
The rap mixtape has surfaced every now and then over the years, most recently in 2018 on Bandcamp, in an attempt to convince the star to go on tour.
In late 2023, Czarface dropped another song with the mystery artist, which listeners saw as a dead giveaway due to the accent – Tom has also been spotted wearing a Czarface t-shirt
Earlier this year, Czarface himself tweeted a photo with Tom on their official account
A user on I never realized that the guy who played Bane and Venom had another alter ego.”
But eagle-eyed fans noticed that the EP includes some songs with a mystery artist credited as Frankie Pulitzer, who is also known as Face Puller – a rapper with a British accent.
The A-Lister has never officially confirmed that he is Frankie Pulitzer, but he drops a pretty big hint in his Instagram bio: the caption, “Face Puller.”
In late 2023, Czarface released another song with the unknown artist, which listeners saw as a dead giveaway due to the accent – Tom has also been spotted wearing a Czarface t-shirt.
When it comes to the songs he appears in in the Venom movie, Esoteric even confirmed in an interview with WBZ News Radio that Tom personally contacted him about collaborating on music for the film.
And if that’s not enough proof, Czarface himself tweeted a photo with Tom on their official account earlier this year.
And now a whole new generation of fans is stunned by the fact that the Hollywood star has another talent under his belt.
Now a whole new generation of fans is stunned by the fact that the Hollywood star has another talent under his belt
A user on I never realized that the guy who played Bane and Venom had another alter ego.”
The tweet, posted on Monday, has since racked up a whopping 927,000 views and 11,000 likes and featured an old video of the actor rapping No Love No Life in a recording studio in 1999.
Others joked: ‘This is insane.’
“This wasn’t on my 2024 bingo card.”
“They literally have a song in the credits of Venom 2!”
‘Woooohh. You can’t help but love this man.’
‘Even more reason to be a fan.’
“What in the world.”
“Every time I learn something new about Tom Hardy, I like him a little more.”