We didn't think we'd ever hear the character Venom being described as a "tragic clown", but that's apparently what Tom Hardy thinks, so it's canon now. OK?
Hardy, who will play Eddie Brock/Venom in the upcoming movie, has been speaking to Entertainment Weekly about his latest comic book role – which he finds kind of "funny".
And not only does Hardy find Eddie Brock's symbiote predicament funny, he also likens it to something from a children's cartoon.
(Although we'd argue that The Ren & Stimpy Show isn't really for kids.)
Explaining the different personalities of journalist Eddie Brock and slimy alien Venom, Hardy said: "It's a bit like Ren and Stimpy, you know? They have different sounds.
"I always saw Venom as sounding like a James Brown lounge lizard, and Eddie Brock is kind of… an everyday kind of guy," he added, "but he's inherited this massive ego, this beast."
Rather than following the tradition of a lot of heroes and villains, who have distinct separate identities, Eddie Brock and Venom are forced to exist as one warring entity.
"There's a tragic clown element, which I find funny and is harmonious with some of the work that I like to do," Hardy said of embodying Eddie's "reluctant" duality.
"There's something funny about the circumstances of having a gift but it's a tragic gift. It's a superpower you don't really want, but at the same time, you love it. It makes you feel special."
Venom, starring Tom Hardy, Riz Ahmed and Michelle Williams, is expected to hit cinemas on October 5.
