With his new thriller "Locke" set to hit theaters April 25th, Tom Hardy fronts the May 2014 issue of Esquire magazine.

While going shirtless for the Greg Williams-shot front page, the "Dark Knight Rises" star opened up about everything from his public image to his struggles with substance abuse.

Highlights from Mr. Hardy's interview are as follows. For more, be sure to visit Esquire!

On his "macho man" persona:
"I have always been frightened with men. To the point where I couldn't go into a gym because of the testosterone and I felt weak. I don't feel very manly. I don't feel rugged and strong and capable in real life, not how i imagine a man ought to be. So I seek it, to mimic it and maybe understand it, or maybe to draw it into my own reality. People who are scary, they terrify me, but I can imitate them. I'm not a fighter. I'm a petite little bourgeosis boy from London. I don't fight, I mimic."

On his alcohol and drug use:
"I was a shameful suburban statistic. I was told very clearly, 'You go down that road, Tom, you won't come back. That's it. All you need to know.' And that message stayed with me very clearly for the rest of my days. The beginning, really, of a new life. I couldn't value life until I risk losing something worth more to me than my behavior. I am f*cking lucky to be here, to be honest. Any near-death experience - if you're lucky enough to f*cking realize that it is one - is going to leave an indelible mark on you. And then you add shame and guilt and fear into that, it's a recipe for awareness if you have the ability to become aware from it. And good things can come back into your life."

On his acting career:
"There are two types of acting: there's convincing and not convincing. That's it, right? And so, if you are going to convince people, then put it in the real world. Can you get your passport back? If you needed to get your passport back to get out of a country that you were in danger in, can you do that? Because you will need that skill. And that's how your character is going to need to be convincing. So number one: Can you hustle? In the real world, have you got the asset to get whatever it is that you need by any means necessary without putting your hands on somebody? Number two: camouflage. Can you dress yourself up to look like somebody that you're not? Can you speak another language? Can you do the hustle but in different languages? That's it."