The Inheritance may refer to:

• The Inheritance (novel), a Dragonlance novel

• The Inheritance (1976 film), an Italian film
• The Inheritance or Fuckoffguysgoodday, a 1992 Czech film
• The Inheritance (1997 film), an American film starring Meredith Baxter and Tom Conti
• The Inheritance (2003 film) or Arven, a Danish film
• The Inheritance (2007 film), a Scottish film

• "The Inheritance" (Lassie episode)

See also[link]

• Inheritance (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Christopher Paolini
Born	(1983-11-17) November 17, 1983 (age 28) Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	writer
Genres	fantasy
Notable work(s)	Inheritance Cycle
Influences J. R. R. Tolkien, E. R. Eddison, David Eddings, Philip Pullman, Tamora Pierce See below
Signature
alagaesia.com

Christopher Paolini (born November 17, 1983, in Los Angeles, California)^[1] is an American author. He is best known as the author of the Inheritance Cycle, which consists of the books Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr and Inheritance. He lives in Paradise Valley, Montana, where he wrote his first book.

Biography[link]

Christopher Paolini was raised in the area of Paradise Valley, Montana. His family members include his parents, Kenneth Paolini and Talita Hodgkinson, and his sister, Angela Paolini.^[2] Home schooled for the duration of his education, Paolini graduated from high school at the age of 15 through a set of accredited correspondence courses from American School of Correspondence in Lansing, Illinois. Following graduation, he started his work on what would become the novel Eragon, the first of a series set in the mythical land of Alagaësia.

In 2002, Eragon was published by Paolini International LLC, Paolini's parents' company. To promote the book, Paolini toured over 135 schools and libraries, discussing reading and writing, all the while dressed in "a medieval costume of red shirt, billowy black pants, lace-up boots, and a jaunty black cap."^[2] His sister Angela Paolini created the cover art for the first edition of Eragon, which featured Saphira's eye. Christopher Paolini drew the maps on the inside covers of his books.^[3]

In summer 2002, the stepson of author Carl Hiaasen found Eragon in a bookstore and loved it, and Hiaasen brought it to the attention of his publisher, Alfred A. Knopf.^[4][5] Knopf subsequently made an offer to publish Eragon and the rest of the Inheritance cycle. The second edition of Eragon was published by Knopf in August 2003. At the age of nineteen, Paolini became a New York Times bestselling author.^[6] Eragon has since been adapted into a film of the same name.

Paolini's essay "It All Began with Books" was included in the April 2005 anthology Guys Write for Guys Read.

Eldest, the sequel of Eragon, was released August 23, 2005. The third book in the cycle, Brisingr, was released on September 20, 2008.^[7] Although the Inheritance Cycle was planned as a trilogy, the details for Brisingr had to be expanded to include a fourth book, Inheritance.^[8]

To date, the Inheritance Cycle has sold more than 25 million copies.^[9] On March 23, 2011, Random House announced the cover, title, and release date of Inheritance. It was released on November 8, 2011 in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, EU and India.

Influences[link]

Paolini's literary inspirations include the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, E. R. Eddison and the author of the epic poem Beowulf.^[4] Paolini said that Eragon was "specifically inspired" by the work of Bruce Coville. Other literary influences include David Eddings, Andre Norton, Brian Jacques, Anne McCaffrey, Raymond E. Feist, Mervyn Peake, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Frank Herbert.^[10] Other favorite authors include Jane Yolen,^[2] Philip Pullman,^[10] and Garth Nix.^[4]

Nature influences much of Paolini's writing. In an interview with Philip Pullman and Tamora Pierce, Paolini said that Paradise Valley, Montana is "one of the main sources" of his inspiration.^[11]

In the book Eldest, Paolini described his elves as vegetarians. When asked about his own diet, Paolini answered, "No, I am not vegetarian, although I lean in that direction."^[12]

In the acknowledgments of Brisingr, Paolini acknowledged the influence of Leon and Hiroko Kapp's The Craft of the Japanese Sword for his description of the forging of Eragon's sword.^[13] Additionally, Paolini admitted he is a Doctor Who fan, which inspired his reference to the "lonely god" (the epithet given to the Doctor by the Face of Boe in the episode "New Earth"), to "rooms that are bigger on the inside than the outside" (from "Questions Unanswered" in Inheritance), as well as to Raxacoricofallapatorius, the home of the Doctor Who Slitheen ("Blood Price" in Inheritance).^[14][15][16]

Bibliography[link]

• The Inheritance Cycle
  • Eragon (2002)
  • Eldest (2005)
  • Brisingr (2008)
  • Inheritance (2011)

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Official website, which includes autobiographical comments from Paolini
• Shurtugal.com, The largest Inheritance Cycle news source and fan community
• The Official Australian Brisingr website
• Eragon summary, from Random House
• Christopher Paolini on Fantasy Fan
• Christopher Paolini at Random House Australia
• Christopher Paolini at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Christopher Paolini's Live Chat on Suvudu
• Chat follow-up: Christopher Paolini answers your questions (on Suvudu)

Tom Hardy
Hardy in July 2010
Born	Edward Thomas Hardy (1977-09-15) 15 September 1977 (age 34) Hammersmith, London, UK
Nationality	British
Years active	2001–present
Height	5'9" (1.78 m)
Spouse	Sarah Ward (1999-2004) (divorced)
Partner	Charlotte Riley (2011-present); (engaged)

Edward Thomas "Tom" Hardy (born 15 September 1977) is a British actor and screenwriter. He is known for his roles in Star Trek: Nemesis, RocknRolla, Bronson, Inception, Warrior, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, This Means War, and the television movie Stuart: A Life Backwards, for which he received a nomination for the BAFTA Best Actor. He also played Freddie Jackson in Martina Cole's The Take, a television movie based on her novel of the same name. He will portray the primary villain Bane in the upcoming Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises.

Early years[link]

Hardy, an only child, was born in Hammersmith, and brought up in East Sheen, London.^[1] His mother, Anne (née Barrett), is an artist and painter whose family was Irish Catholic. His father, Edward "Chips" Hardy, is an advertisement, comedy and novel writer.^[2][3] Hardy studied at two private schools, Reed's School and Tower House School, then at Richmond Drama School, and subsequently at the Drama Centre London. He began his debut in war dramas, winning the part of United States Army Private John Janovec in the award-winning HBO and BBC miniseries Band of Brothers. He made his feature film debut in Ridley Scott's 2001 war thriller Black Hawk Down.

Career[link]

In 1998, Hardy won "The Big Breakfast's Find Me a Supermodel" competition at age 21 (and with it a brief contract with Models One).

Tom joined Drama Centre London in September 1998 and was taken out early to work on Band of Brothers (2001).

In 2003, Hardy appeared in the film dot the i, sharing the bill with Gael García Bernal. He then travelled to North Africa for Simon: An English Legionnaire, a story of the French Foreign Legion. In the same year, he gained some heavy international exposure as the Reman Praetor Shinzon, a clone of USS Enterprise Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in Star Trek Nemesis. He returned to England to feature in the 2003 thriller LD 50 Lethal Dose.

Hardy was awarded the 2003 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer for his performances in Blood and In Arabia We'd All Be Kings performed at the Royal Court Theatre and Hampstead Theatre. He was also nominated for a 2004 Laurence Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer of 2003 in a Society of London Theatre Affiliate for his performance in the aforementioned production of In Arabia We'd All Be Kings.

Hardy appeared in the 2005 BBC miniseries The Virgin Queen as Robert Dudley, a childhood friend of Elizabeth I. The miniseries portrays them as having a platonic, though highly romantic, affair throughout her reign over England during the 16th century. Hardy featured in the Richard Fell adaptation of the 1960s sci-fi series A for Andromeda, on BBC Four.

In 2007, he appeared in the BBC Two drama based on a true story – Stuart: A Life Backwards. He played the lead role of Stuart Shorter, a homeless man who had been subjected to years of abuse and whose death was possibly suicide. In September 2008, he appeared in director Guy Ritchie's London gangster film, RocknRolla. He played the role of gay gangster Handsome Bob, one of the members of the criminal gang the Wild Bunch, led by One Two (Gerard Butler), on whom Bob has a crush. Hardy will reprise the role in Ritchie's sequel The Real RocknRolla.

In early 2009, Hardy starred in the film Bronson, about the real-life prisoner Charles Bronson, who has spent most of his adult life in solitary confinement. For the film, he put on three stone (19 kg/42 pounds) of muscle.^[4]

In June 2009, Hardy starred in the Martina Cole written 4-part TV drama The Take on Sky One as a drugs and alcohol fuelled gangster. The role gained him a Best Actor nomination at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards.^[5]

In August 2009, he appeared in Wuthering Heights, playing the part of Heathcliff, the classic love character who falls in love with his childhood friend Cathy (played by Charlotte Riley), "the love that destroyed everything it touched". It was even suggested by tabloid paper The Sun that he began a relationship with Charlotte Riley shortly after finishing work on The Take, and that he left his partner of two years and mother of his infant son to be with Riley. Riley has disputed this rumour in interviews.^[6]

In early 2010, Hardy starred in The Long Red Road at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.^[7] The play was written by Brett C. Leonard and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hardy won some good reviews for his portrayal of Sam, an alcoholic trying to drink away his past.^[8][9]

In 2010, he starred as Eames in Christopher Nolan's science fiction thriller Inception for which he won a BAFTA Rising Star award.

In June 2010, Hardy announced on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross that he will play the title role in a new version of Mad Max.^[10] Hardy replaced Michael Fassbender in the 2011 adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, also featuring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth,^[11] the second film by director Tomas Alfredson, released on 5 September 2011 at the 68th edition of the Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica in Venice. He will play a bootlegger in John Hillcoat's Lawless.^[12] He will play the chemically enhanced villain Bane in The Dark Knight Rises which is the final film in the Christopher Nolan saga and is set for release in 2012.^[13]

Hardy starred as one of the two the main protagonists in the film Warrior, with Nick Nolte portraying his father, a washed up, alcoholic, former wrestler that trains him to fight in a mixed martial arts tournament against his brother, portrayed by Joel Edgerton. It was released on 9 September 2011 by Lionsgate Films.

Hardy also starred in This Means War, a 2012 American film directed by McG. The film also has co-stars, Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine. Hardy portrays one of the two main protagonists, Tuck Henson who is vying for affection from Lauren Scott whilst facing some competition from his best friend and fellow CIA agent, FDR Foster.

Hardy stated in January 2012 that he had begun watching gangster films for Warner Bros. in preparation for his role as Al Capone in director David Yates' Cicero trilogy, which is expected to begin filming in 2013.^[14]

In March 2012, Hardy signed a first-look deal at Warner Bros., a little more than a year after he came on board to portray the villain Bane in the studio's "The Dark Knight Rises". Hardy's deal was signed on the heels of Warner inking a two-year, first-look deal with Bradley Cooper for his 22 & Indiana Pictures production company.^[15]

In March 2012 in Ireland, on RTE program Craig Doyle Live, Gareth Thomas announced that Tom Hardy is in talks to play him in a film of his life.

Personal life[link]

Hardy married Sarah Ward in 1999; they divorced in 2004. He has a son, Louis Thomas Hardy (born 8 April 2008), with ex-girlfriend Rachael Speed.^[16] In July 2010, Hardy proposed to actress Charlotte Riley, after a year of dating.^[17]

Hardy battled alcoholism and a crack cocaine addiction in his early-to mid-twenties. He entered a rehab clinic and has been sober and clean since 2003.^[18]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Dempster, S (22 September 2007). "Tom Hardy tastes the hard life". The Times (UK). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article2484313.ece. Retrieved 3 October 2007. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tom Hardy

• Tom Hardy at the Internet Movie Database
• Tom Hardy at AllRovi
• Tom Hardy at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• Tom Hardy as Freddie Jackson
• Tom Hardy as Bane