It was a week after his departure from EastEnders , and Ben Hardy was screen testing for one of Hollywood’s most anticipated films of the 2010s. He’d been tapped to take over the iconic role of Peter Beale from Thomas Law in the long-running British soap — and did so for two years — but, eventually, Hardy had bigger plans.

“Look, it’s a great gig,” the 34-year-old tells The Hollywood Reporter about his early career aspirations. “But I was keen to drop in and then drop out.”

He’d set his sights much higher than EastEnder s, and it wasn’t long at all until the actor was rewarded for his tenacity. The following week, Hardy was in L.A. and preparing to make his feature film debut as Angel in X-Men: Apocalypse next to Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Oscar Isa

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