Tom Hardy’s “Sherlock Holmes Meets Hannibal Lecter” Is A Brilliant 8-Part Thriller

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By

Dhruv Sharma

Published Apr 30, 2026, 7:45 PM EDT

Dhruv is a Lead Writer in Screen Rant's New TV division. He has been consistently contributing to the website for over two years and has written thousands of articles covering streaming trends, movie/TV analysis, and pop culture breakdowns.** Before Screen Rant, he was a Senior Writer for The Cinemaholic, covering everything from anime to television, from reality TV to movies.

After high school, he was on his way to become a Civil Engineer. However, he soon realized that writing was his true calling. As a result, he took a leap and never looked back.

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Tom Hardy** starred in a gripping crime thriller that premiered almost a decade ago. Although the show has seemingly been overshadowed by his big screen roles, it is no less compelling than some of his best films and also features him as a character who comes off a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Hannibal Lecter.

Since Hannibal Lecter and Sherlock Holmes are seemingly on the opposite ends of the moral spectrum, describing Tom Hardy's character as the combination of the two might seem a little too bizarre. However, the actor's character in 2017's Taboo_ is full of many such contradictions that make him incredibly fascinating to watch.

Hardy, too, as always, completely immerses himself in the role and disappears behind the complex TV character. Created by Steven Knight, Tom Hardy, and his father, Chips Hardy, Taboo only lasted for a season even though it seemingly had more stories to tell. The show's return seems unlikely after all these years, but its season 1 alone is one of the most darkly intriguing and unique takes on historical fiction.

Tom Hardy Correctly Described His Taboo Character As Both “Sherlock Holmes & Hannibal Lecter”

_ Tom Hardy as James Keziah Delaney in Taboo

In an interview (via Digital Spy_), Tom Hardy described his Taboo character, James Delaney, as a combination of both Sherlock Holmes and Hannibal Lecter. He even cited characters like Oliver Twist, Bill Sykes, Heathcliff, and Marlow as the key influences for his role in the show. A closer look at James Delaney in Taboo reveals how Hardy's description is spot on.

Throughout the show, there is a sense of duality to him where he carries himself with both Sherlock's intelligence and Hannibal's darkness. Like Sherlock, he seems to intentionally isolate himself and operates on a frequency only a few others seem to understand. He notices little details and even carries a mental map of London and its political landscape at the back of his head.

The "Hannibal" aspects of his personality emerge when the show subtly implies he indulged in cannibalism during his time in Africa. Similar to Lecter, he even crosses many a moral boundary in the show and is feared by those who know him well. He even uses fear and shamanistic rituals to get inside the heads of his enemies and carries himself with the same calm brutality as Hannibal Lecter.

By combining traits of two characters who are completely the opposite in terms of moral value, Hardy creates a unique archetype of his own. He makes James look like a sophisticated anti-hero who can outsmart some of the most influential politicians in London, and, when that fails, even intimidate them with his darker traits.

It is these contradicting elements in his identiy that make him all the more appealing and rootable in Taboo.

Taboo Is Obscure, But It Features One Of Tom Hardy’s Best Performances

_ Tom Hardy wearing a poncho in the rain in Taboo

With minimal dialogue, Tom Hardy ensures that his character almost comes off as a predatory animal in the series. His screen presence throughout the show's runtime is incredible, making it hard to notice other secondary players in the overarching story. And even during his most rootable moments, James seems intimidating and even slightly repulsive because of how Tom Hardy captures the complex layers of his motives.

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Taboo_ was more of a passion project for Tom Hardy in which he joined forces with his father. This, in turn, allowed him to have full creative control over how he wanted to portray his character on the screen. In the crime thriller TV show, it is visible how this freedom translates into a level of fearlessness that allows him to portray Delaney as a deeply unlikable and weird protagonist.

Ironically, it is these aspects that ultimately make the character as magnetic as Sherlock Holmes** and Hannibal Lecter. It is also surprising how, even after all these years, Taboo remains lesser known compared to Tom Hardy's other mainstream works. Hopefully, it will gain a new wave of appreciation in the near future.

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Taboo

TV-MA

Drama

Mystery

Thriller

_ 40

9.6_/10_

Release Date

2017 - 2017-00-00

In the wake of his father's death in 1814, British businessman James Delaney returns to England, having spent the past twelve years in Africa. With little to his name, he sets about trying to reclaim his inheritance, against the gritty backdrop of 19th century London.