Josh Trank thinks Tom Hardy is an ''effortlessly talented'' actor.

The 36-year-old director teamed up with Tom, 42, for his new biographical drama film 'Capone', and he's admitted to being wowed by Tom's ability to switch so easily between playing notorious gangster Al Capone and being himself.

The filmmaker shared: ''It's an interesting thing ... I think because of Tom's acting style on screen, it would ... you'd assume that he's a method actor. But he's the opposite in every way.

''He's not a method actor - he can very much just turn it on and turn it off in a way that is pretty surreal and remarkable to see him do.

''He has this control over every cell in his body. Every muscle in his body, he can contort and change, and he can morph himself physically into something else.

''And then he can just go back to himself right away.''

Josh relished his experience of working with Tom, admitting to being inspired by his talent.

Reflecting on their time together on set, he told HeyUGuys: ''It's cool and inspiring, because you can realise that you're in collaboration with somebody who is effortlessly talented enough to go right to where you want them to go without the repercussions of him going there.''

Tom also played London gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray in the 2015 crime thriller 'Legend'.

But the actor previously insisted that there's more to his success than being able to impersonate an accent.

He said: ''One can embellish with flair or an accent. But ultimately you need to ground the character in some form of recognisable truth.''