Bane Versus Joker: 'Dark Knight Rises' Star Tom Hardy Weighs In

Whether it's better, worse, or equally good in its own way, Tom Hardy's performance as Bane in "The Dark Knight Rises" will be inexorably compared to Heath Ledger's turn as The Joker in "The Dark Knight." The latter's take on the classic Batman villain was arguably the best performance of his career, and went on to earn the Australian actor his first and only Academy Award.

The fact that Ledger died before "The Dark Knight" hit theaters earned the film a lot of buzz that it may or may not have received otherwise, and the flick went on to become one of the top-grossing movies ever made. It seems almost unfair to compare "The Dark Knight Rises" to the bar that its predecessor has set, but that won't stop us from doing it anyways. Fortunately, the stars of the film are acting the same way.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Tom Hardy opened up about what makes Bane fundamentally different than The Joker.

"The Joker didn't care," Hardy explained. "He just wanted to see the world burn, and he was a master of chaos and destruction, unscrupulous and crazy. Bane is not that guy. There is a very meticulous and calculated way about Bane. There is a huge orchestration of organization to his ambition. He is also a physical threat to Batman. There is nothing vague about Bane. No jokes. He's a very clean, clear villain."

That might not seem to be such a big deal on the surface, but it actually sets "The Dark Knight Rises" up as a very different movie than "The Dark Knight." While Batman had a hard time understanding The Joker's actions and motives, it seems like Bane will be a villain who is on par with him mentally and physically. Maybe it will end up being Bane who is Batman's true foil instead of The Joker, but we'll just have to wait until "The Dark Knight Rises" hits theaters July 20 to know for sure.

Are you intrigued by Hardy's comments about Bane as a villain? Let us know in the comments section below or on Twitter!