Spending decades in prison, a few bare-knuckle boxing matches, armed robberies, hostage situations, changing his identity. Today Charles Bronson is 66 years old and he has had a particularly hectic life.
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In prison for 38 years
It’s no wonder Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn (who also filmed the legendary film Drive starring Ryan Gosling) wanted to make a film about this unusual prisoner. In the film, we see both a crazy and complex character played by Tom Hardy, looking bigger than ever before.
Charles ‘Charlie’ Bronson, or Michael Gordon Peterson as is his real name, has spent 38 years in prison where he has now fallen ill, with 35 of those years spent in solitary confinement because of multiple cases of violent behaviour. Before being arrested for a failed armed robbery when he was 22 years old, Bronson had a career as a bare-knuckle boxer. He fought in the East End in London where the famous Lenny McLean fought and the footage for this amateur fight organised in prison proves that he still has the moves.
Check out the video above to see what happens when the UK's most violent convict gets in the ring...
