There are special honors where actors achieve several notable accomplishments, such as the EGOT, where they win four major acting awards. A new trend has emerged on social media, thanks to author Joe Hill, known as the NERD EGOT, which refers to an actor who has appeared in several iconic geek-adjacent franchises.

Hill posted on Threads that several actors claimed the EGOT, but few have earned the NERD EGOT, which he notes as “appearing in Star Trek, Star Wars, DC, & Marvel.” Fans pointed out a few who reached the level, including Clancy Brown and Karl Urban, the latter of whom was also in The Lord of the Rings.

With that said, there was another actor who could have made it, but ended up falling short, thanks to his scene being cut from one of the major franchises. Tom Hardy still needs to appear in one of the major geek franchises to achieve his NERD EGOT.

Tom Hardy (Almost) Appeared In DC, Marvel, Star Trek & Star Wars

Tom Hardy has signed on for all four of the major geek franchises, but only three of the performances made it into the finished movie. He stars as Eddie Brock/Venom in the Sony Marvel Venom franchise, appeared as the leader of the Romulan people in Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002, and was the villain Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.

However, he was also supposed to be in a Star Wars movie, but his scene was cut. Hardy signed on for Star Wars: The Last Jedi as one of the celebrity cameos in that movie. In the sequel trilogy, everyone from Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright to John Williams and Jodie Comer had minor cameo roles.

Tom Hardy was supposed to appear as a Stormtrooper. This was a fun, small cameo role that any celebrity could play without anyone knowing they were in the movie. Even Daniel Craig appeared as a Stormtrooper in The Force Awakens. However, Hardy’s Stormtrooper appearance was cut from the final version of the film.

His Stormtrooper was in the scene where Finn, Rose, and DJ sneak onto Snoke’s starship while disguised as First Order officers. Hardy even had a voice role where he recognizes Finn and congratulates him on his promotion in a comedic scene where he uses his regular voice rather than the robotic Stormtrooper sounds.

Director Rian Johnson said he cut the scene because it made him laugh, and he felt it detracted from the tension building during the movie. With that, Tom Hardy lost out on his chance for the NERD EGOT.

Tom Hardy’s Cut Star Wars Scene Means He Can Have A Bigger Role In A Future Project

The good news is that it could be a blessing in disguise for Tom Hardy. While Star Trek: Nemesis was one of Hardy’s first-ever movies, his roles in Venom and The Dark Knight Rises were major ones, playing the main hero in one and one of the main villains in the other. He deserves a major Star Wars role.

With more Star Wars movies on the way, as well as the expanding streaming shows on Disney+, there is a good chance that Hardy could sign on to one of those and finally achieve his elusive NERD EGOT. Playing a masked Stormtrooper wouldn’t have stopped this, but now he would be making his actual debut in that universe.

The Mandalorian & Grogu hits theaters in 2026, followed by Star Wars: Starfighter in 2027, and more possible Star Wars movies from names like Dave Filoni, James Mangold, and Simon Kinberg. Tom Hardy still has plenty of chances to finally appear in the fourth of these prestigious movie universes.

Sources: Joe Hill on Threads