Actor Tom Hiddleston is on the fast-track to stardom, and was recently awarded the reader-chosen Total Film Hotlist award.
The magazine had a quick chat with him, and he discussed what’s next for his villain Loki after his scene-steaking appearances in Thor and The Avengers:
Readers also voted for best scene where Hulk gives Loki a trouncing. Why do you think Loki made such an impression on fans?
“I don’t know. In the words of Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner: “Loki’s mind is a box of cats. You can smell crazy on him”! In all seriousness though, I have received a lot of incredibly passionate and articulate letters from fans, explaining how they’re drawn to Loki’s psychological and emotional complexity; that he’s a villain you can almost root for; a villain you can love to hate, or hate to love.
“Underneath the steely cold veneer of his trickster charm is a certain vulnerability and sensitivity – the wounded fragility of an outcast brother and son. His mind IS a box of cats though! But I love him.”
What’s the best thing about being Loki?
“The best thing about being Loki is that he is my diametric opposite. Physically, he is a photo negative of who I am. Loki is dark and pale, and I am light and fair. Also spiritually I am not much like him either. Yet I feel an incredible freedom in playing him.
“He is a combination of mercurial intellectual ability, emotional ambiguity, rakish charm, charisma and provocative wit. He has a wicked inclination to mischief, underneath which is a well of spiritual pain. Both these aspects are central to his depth as a character: his unashamed and perverse delight in creating chaos; and his capacity for raw emotional expression.
“And – as my American friends tell me – he’s kind of a badass! He’s one of the richest, most rewarding, most fun characters I’ve ever played.”
What do you hope for him in Thor 2 and The Avengers 2? What can fans expect?
“I don’t want to give too much away. But I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed. Alan Taylor’s vision of Thor 2 is utterly brilliant. The journey continues in the most epic dimension and proportion imaginable. It’s very, very exciting.”
Thor: The Dark World is due for release in November 2013, and The Avengers 2 has yet to get a confirmed release date