It's no accident that Tom Hardy's face is obscured in his most famous roles.

Director Christopher Nolan said Hardy can do more with his eyes alone than most actors can with their whole body, and it's a theory they've been putting to the test.

Remember the voice-muffling mask he donned as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises?

Speaking to the Press Association, Nolan said: "I was pretty thrilled with what he did in The Dark Knight Rises with two eyes and couple of eyebrows and a bit of forehead."

So naturally Nolan wanted to up the ante for his next film with Hardy, which perhaps explains his role of a spitfire pilot in Dunkirk: "I thought let's see what he can do with no forehead, no real eyebrows, maybe one eye."

Although the eagle-eyed of you may have spotted a split second of his actual face in the trailer.

Nolan said it is a testament to Hardy's acting ability.

"Of course Tom, being Tom, what he does with single eye acting is far beyond what anyone else can do with their whole body, that is just the unique talent of the man, he's extraordinary."

Can't argue with that, really.

From: Esquire US