Tom Hardy's Facial Hair: The Anatomy of a Beard

Turns out there is something more indistinguishable than whatever the heck Bane is saying: The Dark Knight Rises star Tom Hardy's ever-evolving beard. The handsome actor has gone from rugged and clean-shaven to someone you definitely met at Burning Man. 

The whole thing started innocently enough when he looked like this back in early March: 

By mid-March, it looked like this. Though the real cause for concern here is the hair. On March 27, this is what Tom Hardy looked like and everything we once believed to be certain in this world was shattered. One would think that with the spring and summer months upon us, one would want to shave a beard typically reserved for a snowy winter in a remote log cabin. One would be wrong. Case in point: A still very bearded Hardy out with his fiancée Charlotte Riley over this past weekend.

What in the world is going on here? Is this for a new role? Or maybe his beard holds all the secrets to Inception? BWAAAAAP.