Tom Hardy won’t answer questions about his sexuality

Movie hunk Tom Hardy, who once said he’d had gay flings in his youth, has shut down a reporter who asked him about his sexuality.

The star was at the Toronto International Film Festival on the weekend promoting his new movie Legend, in which he stars as both of the notorious London gangsters, the Kray twins, one of whom was gay.

During a press conference, Tom was asked by a reporter from Daily Xtra: “In the film your character is very open about his sexuality, but given interviews you’ve done in the past, your own sexuality seems a bit more ambiguous. Do you find it hard for celebrities to talk to media about their sexuality?”

The actor looked bemused at the line of questioning and asked in turn, “What are you on about? What is your question?”

The reporter explained he was referring to Tom’s 2008 interview with Attitude magazine in which he said he’d had sex with men.

As awkward giggles were heard in the room, the 38-year-old responded with, “Are you asking about my sexuality? Why?” and then concluded with, “Thank you,” indicating that he wouldn’t take the issue any further. (Watch the exchange below.)

Tom was far more open in the older Attitude interview. When asked if he’d had affairs with men, he said: “As a boy? Of course I have. I’m an actor for fuck’s sake. I’ve played with everything and everyone. I love the form and the physicality, but now that I’m in my thirties, it doesn’t do it for me.”

In 2011, as his profile was on the rise, he seemed increasingly defensive about the issue, commenting to Marie-Claire UK: “I have never put my penis in a man. I’ve never had a cock in my arse, and I have no fucking desire for it. If that’s what you like, cool. But it doesn’t do it for me.”

Tom recently also addressed photos that surfaced online eight years ago of him in his underwear, telling Sky News: “I’ve got no shame about my MySpace photos, especially the one of me in my underpants, which is a glorious photo of a man in his natural habitat.”

Tom, who is expecting his second child with wife Charlotte Riley, has received rave reviews for his portrayal of the Kray twins, although Legend has, as a whole, garnered a mixed response from the critics.

Our advice to Tom? Stop trying to be damn so hard-assed and lighten up!