Christopher Nolan explains why Tom Hardy's face is often covered in his movies

He's done it again in 'Dunkirk'

With the exception of Inception – the first time Cristopher Nolan and Tom Hardy worked together – every time the director and actor have collaborated on a movie, Hardy ends up playing a character with half his face covered up.

In The Dark Knight Rises, the actor played Bane, Batman's brutal nemesis. Throughout the film, Hardy wears a sort of metallic muzzle that supposedly makes him immune to pain, as well as extremely creepy to look at.

In Dunkirk, the latest collaboration between the two Englishmen, Hardy plays an RAF pilot called Farrier who – in almost every scene – has his face covered by a flight helmet and oxygen mask. According to Hardy, however, the mask did not prove an obstacle in his portrayal of the character.

'He's so pragmatic and straightforward,' Hardy said of his character in a promotional interview. 'Whether there's a mask or a hat or a big jacket, the Spitfire is what's presented. That's the role. The Spitfire is the character really and Farrier is the pilot for that.'

But although Hardy seems comfortable acting with half his face covered up, why is Nolan always so keen to have him be the masked man in his movies?

'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,' the director told the Press Association. 'I thought let’s see what he can do with no forehead, no real eyebrows, maybe one eye,' he added.

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

The answer seems simple: Nolan can cover Hardy's face because he's the only actor who can handle it; the only actor among the thousands the director knows who can transmit emotions with just his eyes.