14 Years Ago, Tom Hardy's Hidden Gem Western Nearly Fell Apart After a Fight With His Co-Star

6 days ago 15

Published Jan 28, 2026, 6:30 PM EST

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Carolyn Jenkins is a voracious consumer of film and television. She graduated from Long Island University with an MFA in Screenwriting and Producing where she learned the art of character, plot, and structure. The best teacher is absorbing media and she spends her time reading about different worlds from teen angst to the universe of Stephen King.

Westerns have returned to the pop culture zeitgeist in a monumental way, but one film from 2012 slid under the radar. The Tom Hardy Depression-era film, Lawless, was a neo-Western that had a lot going for it, including a stacked cast. Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, and Guy Pearce were just some of the stars in a film about the infamous Bondurant brothers who ran a successful moonshine business in Franklin County, Virginia.

The film was based on the historical fiction book The Wettest County in the World, a fictionalized account of author Matt Bondurant’s grandfather. Directed by John Hillcoat, Lawless is a grim portrayal of Forrest Bondurant (Hardy), the middle brother and brains of the operation, whose legend makes him seem invincible. He and his brothers run a gas station and restaurant, which also operates as a front for their bootlegging. Forrest hires Maggie (Chastain), a former burlesque dancer looking for a quiet life, and eventually strikes up a relationship with her. This plot is complicated by the corrupt deputy Rakes (Pearce), who demands payment from them. When Forrest refuses, a war between the bootleggers and law enforcement threatens to tear the business apart. A genuinely compelling Prohibition film, Lawless was a heated production on and off the screen.

Tom Hardy Had Tensions With His ‘Lawless’ Co-Star

While Tom Hardy’s Forrest was the heart of the film, Lawless is largely told through the perspective of the youngest brother, Jack Bondurant. He was Matt Bondurant’s ancestor and central to the book. In Lawless, Shia LaBeouf plays Jack whose previous credits include the lackluster Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

LaBeouf has, in recent years, encountered some legal trouble, but before all of that, he and Hardy allegedly came to blows. It turned out there was a ring of truth to these rumors when John Hillcoat addressed the issue while promoting his film Triple 9. The director took to Reddit in an AMA and addressed the allegations about a fight between the two lead actors.

"There was definitely a fight between them," Hillcoat recalled. "It escalated to the point where they had to both be restrained. But I was very pleased to hear it didn't go that way because I would hate to see the outcome." Some reports had indicated that LaBeouf knocked Hardy out during the encounter, but Hillcoat confirmed that it was an exaggerated part of the story.

Hillcoat did not expand on what could have led to the altercation between the two. Tensions can admittedly run high, especially when it comes to differences in personalities. Hardy and Charlize Theron reportedly chafed on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road, while LaBeouf’s legal troubles speak for themselves. Luckily, this didn’t appear to have any effect on the quality of the film when it was ultimately released. While the film arguably would have done better if it were released now, it was still a masterclass in acting from some of the best performers in the business. It was a precursor to Hardy’s popularity as a dramatic actor, and it tells a compelling true story.