Tom Hiddleston lets his hair down as Loki in Marvel’s The Avengers

If you have been following along all week you know that this week I’m writing about all things Marvel’s The Avengers and my amazing trip to New York City!  Just before I was able to walk the red carpet a sneak peak of the closing night screening of Marvel’s The Avengers at the Tribeca Film Festival, I was honored to interview two amazing actors from the movie.

Today I wanted to share my interview with the stunning and talented Tom Hiddelston.  When he walked into the room filled with Mommy Bloggers, Mr. Hiddleston took a moment to go around and shake each and every one of our hands and introduce himself personally.  I can tell you first hand that in his case, “British Charm” is a real thing.  It was hard not to get lost in his ocean colored eyes as he introduced himself to me.  Thankfully, I did remember my name!

For just over 15 minutes Mr. Hiddleston graciously answered all our questions and shared more about his character Loki in Marvel’s The Avengers and why he why he felt honored and privileges to be involved in a movie like this.

FYI – You can find him on twitter @TWHiddleston! Make sure you tell him you are #teamloki!

So, tell us how much you like playing such an evil bad guy.

TOM HIDDLESTON: Well, because I played him before, I kind of feel like I’ve got both my arms around him.  And I understand underneath all of his evil and anger and madness and mania, there’s a sort of emotional heartbreak.  But it was really fun to cut loose and just  let his hair down, literally and metaphorically.

Joss Whedon said that we had to make him more dangerous.  We had to make him more menacing.  Because these superhero films, when they really work, and I think this one does, purely because of Joss’s immaculate writing and direction, the sort of fist-pumping redemption-drama is earned by the heroes having to overcome an obstacle.

And your fist is pumping for Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor, and Captain America and all of those guys because I am that obstacle.  So, um, someone’s got to do it, basically, and it was really fun.  And it was like being a kid, too.  There were days where I was — you know, I had a harness underneath my costume, and wires, just underneath it, attached to the sides, and I was just flying around, like a circus act, like a kid, basically.

Reading your article in the Guardian that touched upon your love of superheroes, which I loved.  When you signed on to be in “Thor” and “The Avengers,” did you actively want to be part of a superhero movie that could potentially inspire children?

TOM HIDDLESTON: Yeah.  Absolutely.  And I don’t think it was something that I really remembered until I had gone through a period of like, exploring other things, expanding my tastes in other directions.

Like, as a kid, I loved superhero films.  “Superman.”  “Indiana Jones.”  Tim Burton’s “Batman.”  Um.  You know.  And then as a teenager, I sort of went off into more kind of, um, refined like, just sort of refined things, like I discovered foreign language cinema and adult films and foreign language stuff and, you know, Shakespeare.  And your taste is just more refined.  And then I kind of remembered actually why I signed up in the first place.

It’s because of Christopher Reeve and you know, I just thought, “Wouldn’t that be amazing?” Before I’d even conceived of acting as a job, before I knew you could make a living being an actor, I wanted to be Superman.  And, I think, if you get this kind of a film right, you can enter a child’s imagination in the most extraordinary way.

How do you find reactions from fans or kids to Loki’s character?

TOM HIDDLESTON: Mark Ruffalo’s son. I kind of dedicate my performance to his son, his ten-year old, because he was on set a lot.  Joss Whedon and Kevin Feige, the producer, they were enormously supportive on set.  They were very complimentary when they liked something that I was doing.  I would do a take, and they would say, “Awesome.  You got it.  Let’s — ”  And Kevin Feige would be like, “God, that was great.  Let’s move on.”  And you get on with the day.  The days that Mark’s son was there, he was like, “Awesome job, Tom.

We got it.  Let’s move on.”  Kevin would say the same thing, and then Mark’s son would say, “Oh, my God!  Tom!  That was incredible!  That was the most awesome thing I have ever seen!”  And I’m like, “I am doing this for you.”  And, you know, there were days when Mark would come in with him just to watch, because he wanted to watch.  He’d be like, “I’m sorry.  We’re here again.  He just loves you.”  And then you realize that that’s the power that these films can have.

It’s such a beautiful thing.  It’s a really amazing privilege.

In bringing this character to life, it’s a huge thing, because you know they already have their stories established and things like that.  So were there any particular details and nuances you tried to add to the character the audience should really look for? 

TOM HIDDLESTON: I hope that anyone who has seen “Thor” can recognize him, and see there is still this spiritual damage at the heart of him, underneath his anarchy and his chaos and his anger and destructiveness.

That there is still a vulnerability there.  And I hope that people kind of he’s kind of stylish.  You know.

Despite his hair?

TOM HIDDLESTON: [LAUGHS] Even though he’s terrifying and hateful, there’s a sort of a strange elegance or something that he has.

So is Loki really a villain or is he just jealous of his big brother?

TOM HIDDLESTON: I always think of him as an antagonist as opposed to a villain, but only because every villain is a hero in his own mind.  Uh, and all of us in the world, we, as we move forward with our lives, we make choices, and we like to think that they’re the right choices.

And Loki is making all the wrong choices.  So he’s tragically deluded, and borderline insane, but he still thinks, in the narrative of his life, he’s a hero.  So, I guess, let’s just say I believe in flawed heroes and heroic villains, and I think he, Loki, is a kind of a heroic villain, in a way.

Loki is so multidimensional, and he goes so much further than just your typical villain  Was this character particularly hard to walk away from after you were done?

TOM HIDDLESTON: There’s just so much there.  You know, he is this fascist, basically.  He’s — he’s a megalomaniac.  He thinks he’s a king, but he’s also a brother and a son.  And he’s really getting lost — he’s like a lost child in the body of a — of a very powerful chess master. Someone with a chess master’s intelligence, and — and it’s easy to manipulate people.

So he’s kind of a box of fireworks, really.  Um, and there were days where I had such fun with him, and other days inevitably where I woke up with a spring in my step and a smile in my heart, and, uh, had to go into work and set those things to one side and try and cultivate all of his negative feeling.  And that was challenging.  And that’s when it becomes a challenge.  You go, “Oh. This is nothing — this character is feeling none of the things that I am feeling.

You can see Tom Hiddleston portray Loki in Marvel’s The Avengers opening May 4th everywhere!

All week long I will be sharing my adventures from our weekend trip to New York celebrating Marvel’s The Avengers.

Don’t forget you can connect with Marvel’s The Avengers on Facebook & Twitter. Plus you can still follow the event hashtag #TheAvengersEvent on Twitter!

Disclosure: Disney/Marvel provided me with an all expenses paid trip to New York City to attend an early screening of Marvel’s The Avengers. Any thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Photos courtesy of Louise from Mom Start.

• Biography of the Author(Read Below)..
• Latest Posts (view them )..

Emily

Emily is a wife & mom living in Las Vegas. The owner and writer at Our Knight Life, Emily loves sharing her two adorable boys and journey through motherhood. Emily has run four half marathons to date and is always training for her next big race. She also enjoys creating healthy recipes for her family and sharing family friendly product reviews.

Latest posts by Emily (Posts)

• Don’t Call It A Comeback - February 7, 2019
• The Little Prince at The Smith Center Las Vegas – Ticket Giveaway - January 31, 2017
• 3 Simple Ways To Add Color To Your Diet @SUBWAY @OfficialSubway - January 13, 2017
• Disney’s Moana in Dolby Cinema at AMC Movie Review - November 27, 2016