Heath Ledger was brilliant in `The Dark Knight`: Tom Hardy

London: Actor Tom Hardy says his villainous role as Bane in the new Batman film shouldn`t be compared to Heath Ledger`s critically acclaimed performance as The Joker in 2008`s ‘The Dark Knight’.

Praising Ledger as "brilliant," Hardy said that he never sees the late Australian actor as a competitor, reported a website. "I don`t think absolutely. That would be putting myself in a competition with somebody who`s clearly brilliant. And it`s not a question of whose talent is greater or whose work is greater. "It`s just trying to be the best that we can be, rather than trying to be better than somebody else. I`m not trying to be better than somebody else. What he did was amazing. That`s that. I`ve got a part I`ve got to play, and I want to play my part," Hardy said. The 34-year-old actor also said that he wasn`t really familiar with the character of Bane at the time he was offered the role. "I had no immediate knowledge of the world of Batman at all. I`m quite incubated. I just keep myself and my dog. He`s not with me anymore. And if something comes in, it`s always a neat experience. So I started when I first got the part," he said. Slated for a July 20 release in the US, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ will see Bane arriving in Gotham City and forcing Batman to resurface after taking the fall for Harvey Dent`s crimes. PTI