Tom Hiddleston talks Marvel, nudity, orgies, gothic romance & more

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What’s not to love about Tom Hiddleston going Full Cumberbatch? Well… we’ll see. In my mind, Full Cumberbatch would mean that Hiddles impregnates Elizabeth Olsen and they go for a quickie wedding with Harvey Weinstein and/or Kevin Feige officiating. Anyway, Vulture just released a new interview with Hiddles this morning. It was part of the wall-to-wall press Tom did at TIFF, so he ends up chatting about High Rise, Crimson Peak and I Saw the Light. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

Tom’s thoughts on orgies (specific to ‘High Rise’ but in general as well): “What’s my stance on orgies? Listen, if it floats your boat, who am I to stand in judgment? I’ve never been in any real-life context like some of those. I think [author J.G.] Ballard was always, particularly with High-Rise, fascinated by extremity, and what happens to human beings in the most physically and psychologically extreme situations — that actually the mask of civilization is a thin veneer. We’re only one sort of neighborly argument away from all-out chaos and murder, and descent of sort of going back to the jungle. I really think he was just quite rigorous about always taking it to its end point. He never stopped at the boundaries of good taste.”

He shows his butt in ISTL, High Rise & Crimson Peak: “Wow. I apologize unreservedly.”

Whether he has qualms about nudity: “I don’t, particularly. If it’s justified in the storytelling, I absolutely have no problem with it. That’s sort of my condition, if I can see where it fits into the story. In fact, in Crimson Peak, I really pitched for that scene because it’s about the twin energies of sexuality and violence, these polar opposites. Gothic romance is actually all about sex and death, and there’s always an undertone, whether it’s Northanger Abbey or Jane Eyre or The Castle of Otranto. The proximity of death and our fear of it, but also the fact that we’re impelled by our sexuality towards things and towards choices and people is actually what gothic romance is about. Guillermo and Mia and myself all agreed that that sex scene had to be quite powerfully realized.

Whether he’s coming back as Loki for Thor 3: “I don’t know that I am. I haven’t spoken to anybody at Marvel for two years. So I literally — there’s no side to it. I just don’t know.”

Whether he had “villain envy” watching Avengers: Age of Ultron. “Ha-ha. No. No. I was good. I enjoyed the film enormously. Of course I did, and it made me feel proud of all those guys. They’re all old friends now. But, no, I had really fulfilling, interesting year last year. I did Crimson Peak, High-Rise, and I Saw the Light in one straight year while they were shooting Age of Ultron, so I was happy. I was busy.”

The backlash against a Brit playing Hank Williams: “Well, it’s in my makeup somehow that when people tell me I can’t do something, I want to prove them wrong. It always has been. But of course I kind of expected that before I signed on. The only way I can explain it is from my own perspective, which is, as an actor, I’ve always been most compelled by unknown territory. I like to think of myself as a correspondent sort of going off into foreign territory and scratching around and bringing back my findings. I hoped that the fact that I was not American and not from the South and there were so many things that I wasn’t born with actually made me more committed to honor Hank Williams, his family, his legacy, even more. It gave me kind of a deeper, more profound desire to get it right.

Whether he’s still singing: “Yeah! I still have my Gibson J-45. Sometimes I even travel with it. I mean, it’s addictive.”

[From Vulture]

Uh-oh. I felt a wave of… something when he talked about Marvel. And it’s not true that he hasn’t heard from Marvel for two years – last year, Tom filmed a cameo for Age of Ultron which was cut out of the film. Do you think that’s why he sounds over it? Because he changed his schedule to do something nice for Marvel and they didn’t even use it? As for all the other stuff… I like how comfortable he is with his body, and I’m assuming he has, um, stuff to be proud of (it’s always the tall, lean guys, I’m telling you). And I’m also sad that he’s never had the opportunity to be in an orgy. Come on, Tommy, live a little!

Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.

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79 Responses to “Tom Hiddleston talks Marvel, nudity, orgies, gothic romance & more”

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  1. Esteph says:

    Uh that last pic Kaiser….I want to climb him.

  2. aims says:

    We went through a dry spell and now it’s raining Tom.

    • mimif says:

      Tommy Tsunami™!

      • mimif says:

        My Bellini is empty, dear Lilacflowers!

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Colin is on his way to refill it. He’s going to put a pitcher next to your chair

      • NUTBALLS says:

        Thank you for including the ™ after my coined phrase, mimif. I won’t sue you now. Let’s enjoy a Bellini together on the veranda, shall we?

      • mimif says:

        I’m actually rolling around on the grass now, care to join me?

        I think I stole Lilac’s Full Batch™ once without proper license, and she withheld the absinthe from me for an entire thread.

      • NUTBALLS says:

        mimif, clearly you’d had more Bellini’s than I. Let me ask Colin for another and stumble on over when blood alcohol levels have risen sufficiently.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        I didn’t withhold it, we ran out. That won’t happen again unless Hodor and WunWun raid the liquor cabinet but then, we would have other, more pressing problems

      • NUTBALLS says:

        Now that we’re getting a Torrent of Tommy™, you are fully stocked, right Lilac? It could turn into something akin at the High Rise, if we run outta booze. The anarchy could be epic.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        We’re fully stocked and won’t run out as supplies will be replenished hourly. We expect nothing but happiness now that the fray has calmed down

      • NUTBALLS says:

        After the loony invasion on the Otter thread, I’m back here for the rest of the day.

    • Ankhel says:

      Hallelujah!

  3. Abby_J says:

    Of course he will come back and play Loki, unless they manage to re-write the story and cut him out. I mean, he is really important to it.

    With all the talk about butts and orgies, I will be right over, Lilacflowers. It’s going to be a crazy day, and I would love some of Colin’s pancakes. So would Jonny Lee Miller. I keep forgetting I need to feed him. Haha! Since his Sherlock is back on drugs, though, I suppose it is fitting.

  4. CidySmiley says:

    It is too early and my child is too sick for me to be reading about Tom and Orgies lol!

  5. Lilacflowers says:

    Colin and Mark prepared for the Tommy Tsunami. And yes, he has no trouble prancing around naked.

  6. Elisa the I. says:

    …that actually the mask of civilization is a thin veneer. We’re only one sort of neighborly argument away from all-out chaos and murder, and descent of sort of going back to the jungle…
    Ha, THIS.

    and: being in an orgy = living a little? I see.

  7. Katie says:

    He has the goofiest smile ever. Goofball galore!

  8. jammypants says:

    when it rains, it pours

  9. j.eyre says:

    You called, TommiE?

    • NUTBALLS says:

      Miss Jane, we know he was totally lying about the orgies. He’s spent far too much time at Thornfield to have not had a few.

      Unless you were lying about what really went on there.

    • j.eyre says:

      I am sorry, dearest Balles de Noix, I simply can’t hear a thing – I have Hiddles talking about sex and Jane Eyre kind of running on loop in my head.

  10. NUTBALLS says:

    Tommy Tsunami… BRING IT. We’ve been waiting an awfully long time to be drowning in PuddleTom posts.

    Of course he’s coming back for Thor 3. The question I have is whether Loki survives and becomes a part of the Dr. Strange storyline.

    • Abby_J says:

      Can you imagine the internet meltdown with Tommy and Cumberdude in the same movie? Yes, I know it has been done in War Horse, but I mean longer screen time and magic powers. I think the internet might actually break in two.

      The Cumberbitches vs the Dragonflies wars, those of us that just want to see it happen for the love of both of them, and the fan fiction. All the fan fiction. Hahaha!

    • Lilacflowers says:

      It isn’t clear whether he has two or three films left on his contract.

  11. meme says:

    I’m never going to get what you see in this guy. He looks like a doofus and he gay. I don’t care that he’s gay but a lot of you would care. That Hank Williams movie got panned.

    • Tiny Martian says:

      Well, I worked on the set of “Crimson Peak”, and I can tell you that in person he is utterly charming, witty, and intelligent. Not to mention, a consummate professional, yet incredibly fun while filming. He totally owned that set, as well as everyone on it. He radiates star power, so it’s no wonder that so many people are attracted to him.

    • NUTBALLS says:

      meme, so why do you bother to comment on this thread if you have no interest in him? Is it just to show that not everyone likes Tom the way we do? Doesn’t matter really — different strokes for different folks — but I don’t get why you feel the need to resort to name calling and baseless accusations to make dislike known.

      You’re free to say whatever you want, but I don’t see the point in tearing someone down who really has done nothing offensive but be unattractive to you.

      • jammypants says:

        I think meme thinks we live in a bubble, never acknowledging the world doesn’t agree with our views. We like what we like. The end.

    • marylinn says:

      He is not gay but it seems you use this word to insult him.

      • jammypants says:

        whenever people use “gay” and “girly” to insult another human being, I don’t have patience for them, and quite frankly, find the thinking the lowest rung of intelligence.

      • NUTBALLS says:

        ikr? As though being bi would cause his whole fandom to disappear! If that kind of prejudice is rampant within Hollywood, it’s obvious why a gay actor would keep it hidden, even though true fans wouldn’t give a rat’s ass.

      • jammypants says:

        I’m a fan of several gay actors. I truly adore them. I don’t take offense that they are gay. It’s bad enough people still use it as a form of insult (same thing with “girly”), but even worse when women do it. A marginalized group marginalizes another. Just major face palm.

      • Maria A. says:

        And when you have someone as awesome as Neil Patrick Harris out there representing, being gay is nothing to be ashamed of. The man is a monster of talent and everyone seems to like him.

    • jammypants says:

      If you’ll never get it, why do you always come in to state the same thing? Move on maybe? Accept that there is diversity in preferences? Don’t accept and keep questioning the same thing and never getting it? I mean, those are the only answers you’ll get.

      He looks so much better in person, very tall, strong bone structure, and elegant. If you don’t get it, then just move on is all I can say.

      • NUTBALLS says:

        I have no issues with people who have a real complaint about Tom and express it here, but to just basically call someone names and make unfounded accusations makes her sound like a bitter, unhappy person who only feels better when tearing down others. It’s childish and immature.

      • jammypants says:

        Yea that’s the sense I’m getting as well. I mean, I hardly ever feel the desire to tear people down like that, especially, when they’re the opposite of Trump or Kardashians in terms of character and public image. It says more about the person than the subject.

    • P'enny says:

      Don’t feed trolls after midnight, spray them water or give them reason to dispute homosexuality. They are repressed individuals.

    • Heather says:

      My name is Heather and I think Tom is a sexy doofus. I would climb that man no matter which way he’s swinging.

    • TotallyBiased says:

      The film is under heavy fire, but his performance is still generating awards buzz.

  12. Bee says:

    I don’t understand the obsession with him or Cumberbatch. Their interviews really aren’t that interesting. And please of course he’ll be back if Marvel wants him. His other movies aren’t exactly setting the world on fire.

  13. et alors says:

    So, the Coriolanus thing Tom, Josie Rourke, and Hadley Fraser were working was a downloadable audio commentary.

    http://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/coriolanus-nt-live-hiddleston-audio-commentary_38758.html?cid=rssfeed

  14. p'enny says:

    I think tom is referring to the Power of Be at Marvel, it was Joss that organised the cameo in AoU and he didn’t have Marvel’s say-so to approach Tom. I get the feeling there is some kind of politics going on behind the scene. Catching up with friends on set it one thing, catching up with Kevin Feige and Mgt is another.

    • NUTBALLS says:

      That’s what I thought too, that he was called in by Jos and not actually having conversations with Feige, who has other distractions, such as Perlmutter.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        As of last month, Feige no longer reports to Perlmutter. There has been lots of upheaval. The script isn’t done and they don’t have a director yet and they have plenty of time to tell Tom what to expect work wise

      • Maria A. says:

        Something tells me that things are going to run smoother now that Feige doesn’t have to deal with Perlmutter.

    • Dara says:

      @ ‘p’enny, I’ve always assumed from their (Tom and Joss) comments that Marvel approached Tom about a cameo but they (Team Tom and Marvel) weren’t agreeing on terms – either Marvel wanted him but didn’t want AoU to count against his contracted number of films, or maybe something else such as salary or billing in the credits. It wasn’t until Joss approached Tom directly that it got done. All of that and the scene got cut – what a lot of effort for nothing.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        He also had very limited availability at the time of filming.

      • P'enny says:

        joss dropped enough of a big hint when he said marvel complained to him that there wasn’t enough time to cut a deal and joss went ahead and did anyway.

        After that, I just image, this is my guess that tom’s agents and marvel got in a tangle and Tom is like, ‘I did for joss a mate and not bothered ‘ and the agents are like ‘ no, we want a cut’ . And it all fell apart and so they Cant use the cameo for legal or price negotiation reasons, which is a shame.

    • KTE says:

      Nah, I disagree, I think someone needs to fetch a fire extinguisher, ‘cos Tom’s pants are on fire.

      Feige announced last year that ‘of course’ Tom is returning as Loki in Thor 3. Thor 3 is due to start filming next year. Joss said he spent 2 days filming a scene with him for Age of Ultron that was cut. No way any of that has been arranged without there being contact between Marvel and Tom in the last 2 years. Hell, Thor: The Dark World premeired Novmber 2013 and he was on an intensive month-long press tour for that, so it’s not even quite 2 years since then.

      It’s the classic case of over-embroidering a lie, when keeping it simple would be more effective. It likely means that he does have some idea of what’s going to be happening.

      The alternative is that Marvel have decided to dump one of their most popular characters, or recast the role just as the actor playing him is getting a higher profile, for no apparent reason at all.

      I guess there’s a slim possibility that he’s playing coy because of contract negotiations, but it’s more likely that they sorted all that out last year, before they announced Thor 3.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Also possible Marvel told him to say nothing.

      • P'enny says:

        @ KTE, but it was, Marvel told Joss no, he went ahead & arranged it anyway.

      • KTE says:

        Marvel told Joss they didn’t have a deal for Tom, and offered Idris Elba instead. Joss made Tom aware that he’d wanted him, Tom said he’d do it, Joss told Marvel, Marvel said ‘but we’ve got Idris Elba!’, Joss said ‘I love Idris, the more the merrier!’. Both Tom and Idris were in the scenes, we know, because Idris let that slip. Tom’s bits were cut. So Marvel got their way in the end.

        But, still, there’s no way they arranged the shooting schedule to get Tom and Idris and Chris together to shoot scenes over that summer, when Idris was DJing in Ibiza and Tom was coming off Crimson Peak, going into High Rise, and then straight off to do I Saw The Light, without there being any communication between the Marvel team and Tom’s team.

        And even if Marvel were a little annoyed at Joss, that’s got nothing to do with Tom, really. From Joss’s account they just felt the scenes he shot were too confusing, and didn’t fit tonally, and made the film too long. If anything the fact that Tom found a slot in his schedule to film something that he didn’t contractually have to shows his willingness to play ball with them. There’s no reason to think they were displeased with the way Tom or his team behaved.

        No, it’s far too likely that he’s simply lying and has got a little carried away. After all, they can’t pick up Thor III from where Thor II left off without Loki making an appearance, and they’re hardly going to kill him off-screen when they had the opportunity to kill him on-screen in the last film and passed on it.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        @KTE, but Loki is a shape-shifter, so they could re-cast. Which is something they already did for Terrence Howard/Don Cheadle and Edward Norton/Mark Ruffalo, although I don’t see why they would unless there is some salary dispute. Several of the other actors got pay raises after The Avengers because they learned how much of the profits RDJ got while they were low-paid. Not sure Tom was included in that going forward.

      • KTE says:

        Sure, Loki is in theory eminently re-castable, but Feige was very specific when they announced Thor: Ragnorak at the big event last year, he said that Tom Hiddleston is returning as Loki.

        Yes, they did go through a tough round of contract negotiations post-Avengers, with Evans and Hemsworth and Robert Downey Jr especially, and yet they managed to keep them all on board. It would be pretty extraordinary for them to re-cast Loki now, when the combination of actor and character are so popular, his casting has already been announced for the next film, and Tom himself is still happy to play the part.

        I’ve heard rumours floating around that Loki was originally destined to die for real in Thor II, and that they changed their minds about that. He might die for real in Ragnorak and then be re-cast as Lady Loki for the Infinity Wars films. In which case, Tom would have had discussions with Marvel, in order to sign on for Ragnorak and be told you can’t mention we haven’t signed you up for Infinity Wars.

        I believe him that he hasn’t seen a script for Ragnorak yet, but I suspect that his comments about not knowing how Loki fits in to the overall arc mean the exact opposite, that he does know the outline of how Loki fits in but isn’t allowed to talk about it.

  15. koko says:

    I detest when people tell me I can’t do something, I will do everything in my power to prove them wrong. I can associate with that feeling more than anything he’s ever said. Go Tom!

  16. 7-11's Hostage says:

    “Ballard was always, particularly with High-Rise, fascinated by extremity, and what happens to human beings in the most physically and psychologically extreme situations — that actually the mask of civilization is a thin veneer.” When it’s more a mental exercise than actual lived experience, I tend to roll my eyes, hard. Same with arguments that are only backed with ideology. Whatever. Good for Ballard.

    • Dara says:

      @7-11, that was my main gripe about Ballard’s story. It all seemed like a thinly-veiled (albeit beautiful) metaphor or parable rather than an actual novel – no real story arc, not much character development, no payoff at the end. That seems to be the theme for all the critics that didn’t really care for the film too – a lot of style over substance, and scenes that just existed to set a mood or shock rather than move the story to a conclusion. I guess in that sense, it sounds like Wheatley did justice to the source material.

      I think Wheatley is a very polarizing director – you either get him or you don’t, and I don’t think this film will change that. It was never going to be a mainstream blockbuster, especially in the US. Best it will manage is a very limited release (if it’s released at all in theaters) and then become one of those blu-ray cult classics that cinephiles will talk about amongst themselves and examine in film classes. The rest of us will likely never see it or hear much about it after 2016.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        I envision a life for it at midnight showings at funky art houses near cool college campuses.

      • NUTBALLS says:

        Dara, you are helping put in to words why I had difficulty with the book. I couldn’t get past the lack of character development / growth or redemption. After all the awful things that happen, there’s no lessons learned for Laing — it ends with him awaiting the new residents arriving to take the place of the old ones. It was too nihilistic for me to appreciate.

      • Dara says:

        @Nutty – I’ve never had the kind of reaction to a book like I did to High Rise. I found absolutely nothing redeemable about any of the characters or the story, but Ballard’s words were so beautiful I felt compelled to keep reading. I kept waiting for a hero to emerge, only to realize near the end that the heroes of the story were probably the residents that were smart enough to get out before it all went to hell.

        I have a feeling this is a movie that no one is going to be “meh” about – people will either love it or hate it, no middle ground at all. Sadly, I’m probably scratching it off my “to-see” list. Much as I’d like to see Tom do his thing as Laing, most of the reviews from TIFF have convinced me that it’s not a movie I would enjoy watching at all. My favorite line from a review was, “if you regularly consult ‘doesthedogdie.com’ before seeing a movie, this is NOT the film for you”

      • NUTBALLS says:

        Dara, I’m glad I’m not the only one who had that reaction. I have never read such a well written book that left me feeling so lousy in the end. I loved the way Ballard uses words, so it was a strange thing to experience.

        I need a hero or someone flawed with redeemable traits by the end of the story and High Rise doesn’t deliver that.

        I would like to see Tom getting down with the ladies and DANCING however. Decisions, decisions…

  17. danielle says:

    I love him!

  18. Sarah says:

    I love how the Brits talk and promote their work so eloquent and classy. I wish tom would have darker hair is sooooo attractive on him.

  19. serena says:

    Always nice reading one of his interviews! He’s so interesting! I think he might be annoyed or something with Marvel too.. that cut wasn’t really nice after all.