MobLand star Tom Hardy reflects on ‘joy’ of playing character

MobLand star Tom Hardy has reflected on the “joy” of his role as Harry Da Souza in the acclaimed Paramount+ crime series.

The award-winning actor, 48, plays the “fixer” who helps problems disappear when things go awry for a formidable mobster family led by Conrad and Maeve Harrigan, played by Pierce Brosnan and Dame Helen Mirren respectively.

The upcoming series sees his character struggle to navigate his loyalty to the gangster clan while hanging on to his strained relationship with wife Jan, portrayed by Joanne Froggatt.

Speaking to the Press Association, Hardy hinted at the difficulties Da Souza will face with Jan in season two after the first series ended with her stabbing him during a heated argument.

“I don’t think they’re as dysfunctional as the other family members in (the show) because there’s an element of honesty between them,” he said.

“There’s an authenticity between Jan and Harry, which is trying to have a normal conversation.

“It’s the compartmentalisation of certain issues that just don’t bind in integration and allow them to have a direct conversation.

“But they’re very direct with each other, very honest. It’s not as dysfunctional as what’s going on around them.

“I think if anybody could work out, you’d have thought these two could.”

Tom Hardy stars as the ‘fixer’ for a mobster family led by Dame Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan (Ian West/PA)

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Froggatt, who plays his on-screen wife, said there is a “bond between Jan and Harry that over-rides everything”.

The 46-year-old actress, famed for her award-winning role in Downton Abbey, said: “Harry is extremely frustrating to Jan at the moment because you know he won’t give her what she needs, which is some sort of emotional attachment.

“She starts to realise she’s never going to get that.

“But having said that, Harry is also the only person in her life that she can be completely honest with.

“As the season unfolds and we see that more, we also see that Harry is the only person in her life that she feels truly safe with and protected, and that’s really beautiful.”

When asked about whether Da Souza struggles being a “fixer” to everyone’s problems but his own, Hardy said: “I think that’s the enigma of Harry, isn’t it?

Joanne Froggatt plays the on-screen wife of Tom Hardy (Ian West/PA)

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“To always play the pain of not quite understanding how to solve a genuine emotional problem, or having the language to, or whether that’s a choice he has or if he’s a fated character in some aspect.

“That’s the joy of playing Harry – never quite having the right words or the right solution.

“Especially being bestowed as a character as somebody who can make the right decisions at crunch point.”

The forthcoming series will consist of 10 episodes, with the Harrigan family struggling to show a united front while confronted with rising rivals – with Hardy’s character at the centre of the drama.

MobLand series two will premiere globally on Paramount+ on September 18.