Actor Tom Hardy showed dogs are a man's best friend when he brought his canine companion to the world premiere of his new film Legend.
The Dark Knight Rises star was accompanied by his dog Woodstock - known as Woody - and his heavily pregnant wife Charlotte as he did interviews on the blue carpet outside the Odeon Leicester Square in London's West End.
Woody, a Labrador cross, previously stole the spotlight when Hardy brought him to a press screening of the drama in the capital, rolling over and demanding a stomach rub on stage.
Hardy, 37, plays gangster twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray in Legend, which is based on John Pearson's book, The Profession Of Violence: The Rise And Fall Of The Kray Twins.
He said playing both brothers on screen was not difficult but said he preferred the younger sibling. "I enjoyed them both at the end of the day but I responded to Ronnie better," he said.
"He's predictably unpredictable so there was more ability to play with a certain level of freedom, whereas Reggie is written as a straight lead which I find intrinsically quite boring."
Hardy was joined by co-stars Emily Browning, who plays Reggie's wife Frances, and Christopher Eccleston, who portrays Detective Superintendent Leonard "Nipper" Read, the policeman who brought down the Krays.
David Thewlis and Tara Fitzgerald also attended as well as US filmmaker Brian Helgeland, who wrote and directed the movie.
The premiere also drew a number of the Krays' former associates including ex-model Maureen Flanagan, Christopher Lambrianou - who was arrested with the brothers - and Edward Richardson, part of rival gang the Richardsons.
Flanagan, who was hairdresser to the Krays' mother Violet, praised Hardy as both twins. "I went to a private screening. I find it very accurate. Tom Hardy is playing two wonderful parts," she said.
As for what the Krays would have made of the film, she said: "I think Reggie would have said it was lovely and Ronnie would have said, 'Where's our money?'"
Legend has come under criticism from Frances Shea's niece, also called Frances, who claimed the film is not authentic and that they were not consulted over its development.
Australian actress Browning, who wore a coral floor-length dress by Roksanda Ilincic, brushed off the negative comments, saying: "Brian wrote this story and I love the character he wrote.
"I tried to research her as much as I could. There wasn't much information out there but I hope I did her justice."
Flanagan said: "I find that sad because the lady who says this was very small when her mother died. So there's no way she would have known the full story."
Legend opens in cinemas on September 9.