Over two decades have passed since Tom Hardy first began performing. In the military movie Black Hawk Down, directed by Ridley Scott, he made his acting debut. Since then, Hardy has been in everything from highly acclaimed TV programs to superhero films.

But in a recent interview for the May issue of British Esquire, Hardy acknowledged that he’s challenging to deal with.

The 37-year-old actor has acknowledged that he may be a hassle when filming, but he doesn’t believe he’s “unreasonable” and is gradually beginning to learn from his past errors.

“I have a reputation for being difficult. And I am. I am, actually,” he states. “But I’m not unreasonable. It used to be that if somebody hurt me I’d lash out a bit, in order to get them to stop. It ultimately comes from fear.”

The hunk eventually understood, however, that his volatile nature would harm both his loved ones and his job.

“If I cause enough of a mess, then people will never ask me again to do something I don’t want to do. But that sort of backfires after a while so you don’t want to do that. You grow up. And it’s like, you know, you’ve got to watch how you behave. Because I’ve got the ‘he’s volatile’ thing.”

Because he insisted on maintaining character between takes, Hardy famously feuded with Charlize Theron, his co-star in Mad Max: Fury Road.

According to a source who spoke to perezhilton.com,  “Charlize and Tom are just not getting on together. He prefers to isolate himself and Charlize thinks he’s a weirdo!”

The animosity between Hardy and Theron, according to stunt performer Dayna Grant, made things “very hard” for everyone on set.

Grant claims that she was often used as Theron’s stand-in in sequences starring Hardy. While Theron’s double was used in their sequences. The two stars “didn’t want to film sequences together,” was the explanation.

In a later interview, the actor denied the rumored disagreement and described the rumors as “disappointing.”

The actor also spoke on the grueling Mad Max filming process, adding, “We were in the middle of nowhere, so far away from the studio system that [Warner Bros] can’t really see what’s going on, and just getting things to and from the set was a nightmare. We’d lose half a vehicle in sand and have to dig it out. It was just this unit in the middle of x-million square-kilometres of desert, and then this group of lunatics in leathers, like a really weird S&M party, or a Hell’s Angels convention. It was like Cirque du Soleil meets f–king Slipknot.”

The Inception actor claims that fame won’t change his lifestyle choices or the way he raises his family, showing that growing up may have also given him some perspective.

He said: ”I’m 37. How (expletive) mega-famous can I get at 37? Anything else that gets in the way of [mine and my family’s life] goes first. I don’t say that lightly. Because I’m financially secure enough to say that, within my means.”

But he makes it clear that he won’t be giving up what he’s passionate about for money, regardless of how much he earns.

He told British Esquire, “I’m not a multi-multi-millionaire; I haven’t got enough money to survive my whole life and look after my friends and family, but I would rather be able to go to Crock A Doodle (where British Esquire’s interview took place), and be with my dogs, and walk down the street, and people know me and say hello,”

“That’s great, it’s like being a local in an old fashioned sitcom, Cheers or whatever, but in real life. You know me? Great. That’s cool. Totally. Brilliant. Love it. At least I know I’m not alone in the world,” He says.

While “Mad Max: Fury Road” comes out on May 14, Hardy’s next movie, the Cold War thriller “Child 44,” enters theaters on April 17.