Tom Hardy's Hidden Gem Thriller Miniseries Is a Perfect One-Night Binge

Tom Hardy has a taste for playing gangsters, and The Take is a compact crime thriller from Sky One that showcases that side of him. The miniseries is brief, tightly plotted and driven by Hardy’s performance as Freddie Jackson, a London East End gangster who, on release from prison, immediately returns to crime.

Freddie is cold and iron-willed; he expresses a willingness to get back in the game and even hopes to reach Tony Montana–level status. More intentional than ever, he shoots, stabs and manipulates his way to the top while sinking deeper into drug addiction and enjoying the company of attractive women.

Hardy’s work on the series earned him the RTS Television Award for Best Actor. Brian Cox plays Ozzy, Freddie’s mentor who remains behind bars but can still pull strings. Able support comes from Kierston Wareing, Margot Leicester, Shaun Evans and Charlotte Riley, populating the story with characters who range from disciplined survivors to easygoing allies and confrontational figures.

United Kingdom, London East End

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