Tom Hardy knows firsthand that fatherhood is rough. The actor, currently out promoting The Dark Knight Rises, has an excruciating tale to tell of one well-aimed kick from his infant son.

”I managed to survive my entire life without getting kicked in the testicles,” Tom Hardy explained to Esquire. “And then one day I was changing the nappy of my son. It was a sock dance. I put him on his back and he was moving his feet about. I was like, ‘Come on’, and he brought his heel down – and clipped the top of my left testicle. It took me to the f***ing floor man.”

”I didn’t see it coming, I was loose. And I took it straight on. I thought, ‘Jesus, that’s what it’s like to be kicked in the balls.’ Excruciating agony,” the father of Louis with ex-girlfirend Rachael Speed. “And my son is only a foot-and-a-half long.”

The movie veteran was particularly surprised by the pain after having already survived some harsh treatments at work.

‘When I was doing Bronson, I was arse-kicked with six guys pretending to kick the s**t out of me in a cage. Bam, bam, bam and this one guy kicked me in the testicles. It was full impact.

”Time slows down when that s**t happens that’s serious. I thought, ‘Jesus, I’m going to pass out.’ Nothing happened. I didn’t feel anything.

”I must have these super-testicles,” Tom Hardy thought at the time. “A year later, my son took me to the floor.”

photo: PR Photos