In the film, Hardy plays Venom – the ferocious and toothy alter-ego of Eddie Brock, the familiar character of Marvel Comics renown.
The monster anti-hero is a brutal fighter and otherworldly beast who embarks upon a series of violent endeavours.
In an extraordinary interview with the UK version of Esquire, Hardy revealed former UFC champion Conor McGregor was a source of inspiration to flesh out the role.
The Hollywood superstar said: “It was not Venom: he was not based on him.
“There were more elements of Venom’s alter-ego Eddie Brock which needed to be pinned on somebody who’s incredibly handy physically.
‘And, obviously, Conor is incredibly handy physically.
“There was an aspect the studio wanted somebody who could fight, which they always do in these sort of hero movies.
“They want somebody who can have a scrap. Conor obviously wants to have a scrap with everybody, so that’s useful.”
Venom, which currently has a rating of 25 percent on respected movie rating site Rotten Tomatoes, is released in the UK on October 5.
The film, produced in association with Marvel, had a huge $100million (£77million) budget and was directed by Ruben Fleischer.
Hardy explained it wasn’t just the Irish-born, LA-based mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who had inspired him when acting the deadly creature.
The actor of Inception, The Revenant and The Dark Knight Rises repute cited the oddball personalities of Woody Allen and Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones as among other influences.
He said: “But then, there are other elements in the character like the neurosis of Woody Allen, Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and other elements within.
“But yeah, McGregor was definitely a keynote.”
Hardy took extensive MMA training in preparation for the role, building on his experience from his role in fighter movie, Warrior.
Venom, a villain taken from the Spiderman saga, is an ode to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
The alien super-villain uses the body of Eddie Brock as a host to wreak havoc on the city of New York.