Heres what he had to say…
Will nothing stop Tom Hiddlestons geek-crush level from rising?
This actor, it seems, is quite the believer in the power of the comic book movie.
Its certainly not the Jane Austen-y punch in of role usually given to well-spoken, classically trained Brits.
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It was completely different.
I hope that the person you see sitting in front of you… Im not obvious casting for Loki.
I dont have long, greasy black hair.
And it was in my auditions.
I owe this entirely to Marvel and their open-mindedness, they saw something that they thought was interesting.
They saw some temperament that they liked.
So the people who hold the purse strings need to check that that the money is being spent properly.
Its a big movie, its a big blockbuster, thats a lot of responsibility.
So I auditioned and auditioned, just like Chris Hemsworth did, both of us.
It took us both four months to get the roles.
And that is really where we got to know each other.
When you act with someone on stage, theres no hiding place.
You see who somebody is, you see what makes them tick.
You see their process, their professionalism.
It is a job that we do and Ken and I just really connected.
So I knew that he trusted me and I trusted him, and we had the same taste.
Were in this business for the same reasons, because we just love it.
Love cinema, love acting, love stories and characters.
I see what youre saying.
It all depends on whos interpreting it, though.
TheBatmantelevision series isnt particularly deep, I dont think.
[laughs] Thats what I was really trying to say with my article.
In my lifetime, I feel theres been a paradigm shift in the way that superheroes are perceived.
And then, in the last 20 years, theyve become a much more serious business.
Theyve become a mythology, which people have invested so much significance in.
Its such an imaginative metaphor for our world.
And so, the heroes are emblems of everything that we hope we are.
They appeal to the best in our humanity.
They are noble and courageous and generous and self-sacrificial and honest and good.
Its who we all hope we would be in a crisis.
And then the villains are everything were afraid of.
They are incarnations of our darkest instincts.
Fear, jealousy, pride, vanity, arrogance, rage.
And, if it all were just philosophical and worthy, it would be immensely boring.
I think we need superheroes to be reminded of the primacy of generosity and kindness and humility.
Even when I watched this film…
I love Loki, but Im punching the air when the heros winning.
Im clapping along with everybody else when I get Hulk smashed.
Theres something really innately inherited, I think, about redemption.
We all are just intensely moved by it.
And superheroes offer that redemption narrative really cleanly, I think.
What was it like building up to the role that Kenneth Branagh famously played?
Its our extraordinary inheritance, and its like an Olympic torch that you pass on from generation to generation.
And if you get to play that stuff, youre really fortunate.
The plays themselves came about because Sam Mendes asked to produce Shakespeare plays for the BBC.
And so they said, okay, you could do four.
Theyre plays about this island.
This jewel set in the silver sea.
Its the Olympics, and its 2012, and the world is watching.
They just seemed very timely.
And you have an amazing character arc for that character, too.
And then he slowly sheds that skin, and becomes the greatest warrior king that England ever had.
Youre also in the new Jim Jarmusch movie, which sounds like a very different project altogether.
What can you tell us about that?
Its Jim Jarmusch, whos an amazing filmmaker.
Im just at the beginning of my relationship with him, Im just preparing it, really.
Im going to be working with Tilda Swinton and John Hurt and Mia Wasikowska.
Except that the man and the woman happen to be vampires.
Tom Hiddleston, thank you very much!