Actor Taron Egerton revealed he shared an unscripted kiss with fellow actor Tom Hardy on the set of their 2015 film "Legend." The moment, which was not included in the final cut of the movie, occurred during a scene where Egerton’s character, Teddy Smith, was in a car waiting for Hardy’s character.
Egerton described the incident on the "Armchair Expert" podcast, explaining that he spontaneously grabbed Hardy’s face and kissed him. He admitted he was initially unsure of Hardy’s reaction but believed the "Mad Max" star ultimately appreciated the gesture. Egerton characterized the kiss as an act of “chutzpah” that Hardy might have “loved."
"There was a scene where he murders someone and gets back in the car and I was in the back of the car waiting for him," Egerton recounted. "I grabbed his face, and I snogged him. And it wasn’t in the script."
Egerton, who played the lover of one of Hardy’s twin characters in the film, suggested his role was to subvert the hypermasculine world depicted. He noted that director Brian Helgeland was open to improvisation and experimentation on set.
"At that time, I think he quite liked my chutzpah," Egerton said, with podcast co-host Monica Padman calling the kiss “ballsy.”
Egerton recalled feeling “so pleased with himself” after the kiss. He described Hardy as an “intimidating” but “exciting” colleague, whom he referred to as a Hollywood “heavyweight."
He also mentioned that Helgeland, an Oscar-winning writer, welcomed improvisation, which Egerton felt could bring scenes to life. At the time of filming, Egerton had also called Hardy a “warm-hearted” and “very generous man.”
Hardy's representative did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Hardy is currently starring as Harry Da Souza in the crime drama "MobLand." Egerton most recently starred in Apple TV+'s "In With the Devil."