Tom Hardy may be Hollywood’s ultimate tough guy, but even he admits he was humbled by Eminem’s no-nonsense reaction when they met backstage before a concert.

Hollywood’s resident tough guy Tom Hardy recently shared a hilarious story about meeting Eminem, and it turns out, even he felt a little out of his element. Hardy recounted his awkward backstage encounter with the rapper during an interview on the WHOO’S House Podcast with DJ Whoo Kid. As Hardy said, he was excited to meet the GOAT rapper, but he could not have picked a worse time. Now, years later, Hardy can laugh at this memory, but it did not feel funny back then:

When I went to his concert, I felt sorry for him. I got ushered to his dressing room backstage to say hello, and he had to take a photo with me. I felt like a real dick.

It was the second of two days at Twickenham in London in 2018. Em, laser-focused on his pre-show prep, apparently was not in the mood for small talk. Instead, he gave Hardy what can only be described as “the look” — that deadpan expression that says, “Not now, dude”.

Hardy does not make any character judgment based on this interaction with Em:

He’s nice, but he had to go on stage. And then some idiot like me comes in, and he’s just deadpanning me! I was like, “Okay. Now is not the time. We’ll save it for another time”. And then I haven’t met him since.

Interestingly, the two share a unique connection through Hardy’s role in “Venom”, which features Eminem’s title track. But that is not all: Hardy almost lost his chance to play “Max in Mad Max: Fury Road” to none other than Slim Shady himself. Director George Miller was set on Eminem for the part, but the plan fell through when Em insisted he would not go to Australia and only do it from his home state.

So, this awkward backstage moment remains their only meeting so far. Hardy then left with a chuckle, but he has since come to appreciate Eminem’s pre-show intensity.

For Hardy, though, this encounter was a great story to tell — and maybe a reminder that some legends, like Eminem, do not break focus for anything.

Watch the video below: