--- description: Tom Hardy used unlikely inspiration for his new role title: Tom Hardy Watched Sesame Street to Prepare for 'Child 44' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef030c0ec8eaa47/6987eba6cd1bba80086f903d/tom-hardy-child-44.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Tom Hardy Used ‘Sesame Street’ To Prepare for ‘Child 44’ by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 17, 2015 1:57 PM CUT  British actor Tom Hardy poses for photographers on the red carpet ahead of the UK premiere of "Child 44" in central London on April 16, 2015. British actor Tom Hardy poses for photographers on the red carpet ahead of the UK premiere of "Child 44" in central London on April 16, 2015.Justin Tallis—AFP/Getty Images by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 17, 2015 1:57 PM CUT Tom Hardy tapped an unlikely source to get ready to play a Russian secret agent: the Count from Sesame Street. The British actor stars as a Russian agent on the trail of serial killer murdering small boys during the end of the Stalin era of the Soviet Union in[_Child 44_](http://time.com/3822441/child-44-tom-hardy-review/ "undefined"). At the film’s London premiere, Hardy quipped that he watched Sesame Street to prepare for the role. “The Count speaks just like it,” he said. Some reviewers have [criticized](http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/apr/16/child-44-review-tom-hardy "undefined") the overwrought Russian accents in the thriller, which stars mostly British and American actors. The movie was banned from Russian movie theaters this week because the country’s culture ministry deemed it “[historically inaccurate](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/15/hollywoods-child-44-pulled-in-russia-after-falling-foul-of-culture-ministry "undefined").” \[[_Variety_](http://variety.com/2015/scene/vpage/tom-hardy-on-how-sesame-street-helped-prepare-him-for-child-44-1201474369/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3826407/tom-hardy-child-44/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3826407/tom-hardy-child-44/"},"headline":"Tom Hardy Used ‘Sesame Street’ To Prepare for ‘Child 44’","datePublished":"2015-04-17T13:57:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:28:37.626Z","description":"Tom Hardy used unlikely inspiration for his new role","url":"https://time.com/3826407/tom-hardy-child-44/","keywords":["movies","Sesame Street","Tom Hardy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef030c0ec8eaa47/6987eba6cd1bba80086f903d/tom-hardy-child-44.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef030c0ec8eaa47/6987eba6cd1bba80086f903d/tom-hardy-child-44.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"BRITAIN-ENTERTAINMENT-CINEMA-CHILD 44","caption":"BRITAIN-ENTERTAINMENT-CINEMA-CHILD 44","creditText":"Justin Tallis—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3826407/tom-hardy-child-44/","name":"Tom Hardy Used ‘Sesame Street’ To Prepare for ‘Child 44’"}}]}] ```