Tom Hiddleston: ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ will be ‘my last time out of the gate’

After such a drought of Tom Hiddleston stories for several years, I’m enjoying all of the Hiddlesnews recently. I guess it started last year with Elizabeth Olsen, but in the past few weeks especially, we’ve been getting regular interviews and stories. And in the years that we’ve been following Hiddlesnews, I have to say… he’s matured a lot. He’s not so needy. He’s not such a dancing bear these days. He’s more subdued. I honestly think his team must have sat him down and gave him some hard truths after he embarrassed himself on The Graham Norton Show last year, because that was when things really started to change. Anyway, Hiddles has a new interview with the Daily Beast. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

His character orders a vodka martini in The Night Manager: “Oh, right! Yeah! Honestly, I didn’t think about it as I said it. I can’t remember if it was in the script or I improvised it. I’m pretty sure I improvised it though because, actually, [co-star] Hugh Laurie really loves a vodka martini. So I was just in that mode.”

Whether he & Idris Elba joked about the James Bond rumors: “I know, right? We should… ‘What the hell is going on?’ Honestly, I have no control over it.”

On The Night Manager: “Hugh Laurie used to say that John le Carré’s writing is like Harris Tweed, which is to say it’s so finely stitched that it doesn’t look like anything else, and it holds together. It’s not cheap. It’s pretty great that in the age of box sets and Netflix, to still have it be [a TV event]. I’m so happy to hear that people have set their watches and rushed back early to tune in.”

He’ll spend the summer working on Thor: Ragnarok: “Thor 3 will be cool because I’ve not done it for four years. I love working with Chris [Hemsworth]. This will be my last time out of the gate.” So he’s not going to pop up in Avengers: Infinity War? “I don’t know! Honestly, I don’t know. They haven’t got their ducks in a row yet. They make it up as they go along.”

On Kong: Skull Island: “It’s cool, it’s gonna be new this time. Kong was a change, to play a heroic protagonist—having never really played that role before—in a massive movie. And Jordan’s vision for it is really unique: completely different time period, different story, and Kong like you’ve never seen him before. There is no young movie actress, there is no film director. It’s a reimagining of it. There’s a little extra social commentary, but it feels fresh. The myth behind it is more about the necessity of man’s humility in the face of nature. We keep thinking we can build a better world than nature. I’m not sure that we can.”

[From The Daily Beast]

“They make it up as they go along.” Really? Marvel, from what I’ve seen, does not make it up as they go along. Marvel is run by mature professionals with a decade-long plan to take over the film industry. While I get that they don’t everything that will go down in Infinity War, I can bet that Kevin Feige already has a really good idea of which people and characters need to go where. I feel like Hiddleston is sort of hoping he’s NOT needed for Infinity War, because he’s sort of outgrown Marvel and Loki. But we’ll see – maybe he’ll fall back in love with Marvel over the summer.

As for Kong: Skull Island and playing a “heroic protagonist”… I didn’t realize this until he said it, but he’s right. His CV is full of oddballs, villains and antiheroes. So, Hiddles is going to play the true-blue hero? Does he save Brie Larson’s character? Or does he save Kong? WHY CAN’T KONG BE THE SAVIOR?

Photos courtesy of Getty.

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60 Responses to “Tom Hiddleston: ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ will be ‘my last time out of the gate’”

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  1. Lindy79 says:

    Having seen some of the cast hanging out on Instagram etc I’m excited for Skull Island, it can’t be any worse than Peter Jackson’s one, even if I did get very emo at the end of it.
    I’d be shocked if Marvel don’t sign him on even for cameos in a few more movies, he’s a big enough draw as part of an ensemble, he plays the PR game and Loki is still around in the comics isn’t he?

    • lilacflowers says:

      I want to see a “How We Spent Our Down Time While Filming Skull Island” documentary..

      And I want to see Thomas Mann’s photo album. He took some amazing and beautiful photographs.

    • NUTBALLS says:

      I’m sure I missed a lot just checking Twitter, but what I saw looked like they had a great time together. I think the promo tour for SI is going to be a lot of fun to watch.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Check out the Instagrams of Brie, Jordan Vogt Roberts, Jason Mitchell, Thomas Mann and Samuel L Jackson. Thomas Mann takes stunning photographs and SLJ takes hilarious selfies

  2. lilacflowers says:

    He has always matched his behavior to the event. There were no dancing bears promoting War Horse or Coriolanus or The Hollow Crown.

    I think his recent Marvel experience has been that they do make it up as they go along. He got called back to shoot several scenes for TDW that altered his character’s arc. Then, first, he wasn’t in AOU; then he was in AOU; then he wasn’t in AOU. He hasn’t seen a script for Ragnorak yet AND Marvel doesn’t like plot points given out. If Loki dies again in Ragnorak; Tom saying he’s in Infinity Wars gives away the plot that Loki comes back again.

    • ApplePieNYC says:

      Could not agree more, Lilac. Plus he signed a five picture deal so I doubt he’s done with them yet. I have to admit I do love the shade he’s throwing their way. Seems to me that both Joss Whedon and Kevin Feige owe him some better communication skills than what went down with the deleted scene, etc. I hope he gets what is due him in Ragnarok along with script consultation and plenty of screen time. He steals every scene he’s in anyway. Let’s just make it official.

    • jammypants says:

      That’s so true! Marvel strung him along quite a bit! I can see why he’s not enthusiastic to be at the beck and call of producer whims. It screwed up his professional schedule in 2013 when he broke out.

      • NUTBALLS says:

        I fear it may screw up the rest of 2016 and possibly 2017 too. After having a chance to expand his range of experiences with CP, HR, ISTL and TNM, it must be frustrating for him if he has to turn down an opportunity for a part he’s jonesing to play.

      • spidey says:

        jonesing? What is this jonesing?

      • Lilacflowers says:

        It must be so difficult to negotiate contracts for other work when you don’t know your availability. With the way they are padding MCU casts, roles invariably get reduced. Adding Ruffalo and possibly Cate Blanchette to Thor3 could mean less time for Loki. The IW cast is going to be huge. Blocking out months of an actor’s time for 10 minutes of screen time must be very frustrating.

        While shooting TDW, he managed to do Exhibition too but T3 will film in Australia, which means less opportunity for side projects.

        And he told Josh that he wants more stage work

      • NUTBALLS says:

        spidey, don’t know if you caught my link prior to it disappearing, but anytime you hear a term/phrase you don’t know, it’s likely to be on urbandictionary, in which “jonesing” is defined as “to have a strong need, desire, or craving for something.”

        I was talking young and hip… which I sadly I am not. #exposed

      • LP says:

        See, this is the reason that I side eye the Bond rumors- while I’m sure he’s ambitious enough to take on a big name part like that, it would be quite a commitment, and he’s likely had enough of the long term franchise things with Marvel! I could be wrong (and it might be that Bond isn’t as time consuming a commitment as a superhero franchise), but that’s my reading of it.

      • spidey says:

        @Nutballs, thanks for that I will remember in future. I’m much older, but still have my own hips. 🙂

      • lilacflowers says:

        “jonesing” actually has been around for quite a while. Cheech & Chong sang about “Basketball Jones” back in the early 70s. A song my oldest brother seemed to think was the greatest ever written. I pity my sister-in-law.

    • icerose says:

      i agree -I think his comment was in reference to Thor only and the double avengers movie is still wide open

  3. Jessie says:

    The Bank manager! 😂

  4. Miss Jupitero says:

    I have no doubt that the Marvel plan for world domination is well.plotted– and that they keep the actors well in the dark. He’s under contract but he has no idea. I agree that he hopes this is the last of it. He really has outgrown that role.

  5. Leah says:

    “After such a drought of Tom Hiddleston stories for several years,”

    What??? Every time i look at this site theres a story about him.

    • moohoo says:

      i know and i don’t get it. he was the weakest performer in the night manager

      • icerose says:

        not according to critics-all the cast have received high praise.Tom because his portrayal was very nuanced and Laurie because of how well he came across ass evil although many viewers could not get rid of his Blackadder image.I personally loved Tom Holister who i had not see much of before and Olivia Coleman was at her best

  6. LP says:

    I was talking to a friend who loves the comics, and he said that there’s a character in the infinity war plot line who pretends to be Thanos’ helper but secretly passes information to the avengers. A character with magical abilities who was an enemy in the past but didn’t want Thanos to succeed… I can’t remember the name, but my friends theory was that they would put Loki in that role!

    It might be that he’s been told not to say one way or the other on pain of death, or it might be that they’re waiting to see how fans respond to Thor 3 (less likely though). The infinity war movies will be so packed with characters that they’re probably prepared to shift things around if need be!

    • Mia V. says:

      Being Loki a fan favorite and a wizard god that somehow is connected to the Thanos plot, my bet is that he will be back.

    • NUTBALLS says:

      Being as he previously said he has a 6-film contract, I suspect you’re right.

    • Lord says:

      I once read something like that as well. He helped the Avengers. As far as I know there also was a link to Scarlet Witch, I swear there was and I had to laugh about that pretty much.

  7. InvaderTak says:

    God, yes, please let that be the last of Loki!

  8. MexicanMonkey says:

    I don’t think Marvel would bring him back for Infinity Wars. Yes, he is a fan favorite and he is their best Villian to date but I think that’s exactly why they might not want him in the movie. They would want the focus to be on Thanos and whomever else they wanna add to their bad guy rooster.
    I mean, they had to cut out his minor cameo from AOU because his 5 second appearance had some test audience or whatever convinced that he was behind the whole plot.

    • KTE says:

      Yes, I can see that – the Thor 3 director has already said that he is focused on making Thor the most appealing character in his films, the implication being that Loki will take a back seat. I’ve heard rumours that Loki was meant to die for real in Thor 2 but that decision got changed because the Thor-Loki sub-plot was the bit that was working the best.

      In any case, Lady Loki has always been hovering in the background. I’ve always had the impression that Marvel want to play the gender-switch trick, and that the role would be re-cast at some point. It’s possible that Loki will be in Infinity War but that Tom won’t.

  9. seesittellsit says:

    Wise. You really can take this kind of thing to absurdity. And sorry but – his hairline really is receding noticeably, which is quite normal in a 35 year old man with his kind of hair. Doesn’t interfere with his hotness but does suggest a more mature persona is in order, including saying farewell to Loki . . .

    • spidey says:

      Wigs?

    • NUTBALLS says:

      Something tells me that those who repeatedly bring up his hairline aren’t old enough to have seen their own bodies change. After watching my body metamorphosis into its pre-menopausal version, I don’t dwell on the signs of aging in anyone else. It’s not indicative that something’s wrong, but absolutely normal and we all go through it eventually.

      “Honey, time marches on and eventually you realize it is marchin’ across your face. ” – Truvy, Steel Magnolias

      • spidey says:

        Time and tide wait for no man.

      • Poisonous Lookalike says:

        Yes, this! And as one who was very late to becoming a fan of Mr. Hiddleston, I find him more attractive now than in videos I’ve watched of him from a few years back. Maybe that’s because I’m a post-menopausal crone myself. /s

      • jammypants says:

        It’s weird how people criticise his hairline as a hit against him as a person. It’s just as bad as the people who hate watch his stuff haha.

      • KTE says:

        His hair has definitely thinned, but it’s also badly styled – I don’t know why they push it back off his forehead instead of forwards around his face. It’s not his most flattering look.

  10. Lord says:

    Changing after Graham? Yes, it was cringeworthy but he has acted in a mature way for over years… Sometimes I wonder why people act as if he is some hillbilly. If you watch the Times interviews or the one he did with this Radio guy who was fired later (no clue what his name is) you will see that it always depends on the person who is interviewing him. As for Loki: Marvel pushed Thor too far forward. Four years between the last two films are just too much. And to me Loki has always been a delight. I miss him.

    • icerose says:

      I blame Norton for that show.Tom was obviously encouraged to do an impression of DeNiro but if you listened carefully some of thie chat about Heat in between when he and Tom were chatted was quite in formative.Personally I thought it was a waste of a great guest list because Norton seem to focus on DeNiro at the expense of the others but it was not as bad as the tedious Benny and the Otter episode which was just sycophantic and tedious,
      I tape Norton’s and sometimes go back and watch them if there is a star i have not seen and sometimes he still surprises me but his format is so hackneyed now he needs to change it

  11. Leah C says:

    He didn’t seem to embarrass himself on Graham Norton. Viewers may have been second hand embarrassed, though.
    And I do think the folks at Marvel make it up as they go along, especially in Thor movies. How many directors/writers were attached to both Thor: The Dark World and Ragnarok? That is not a clear vision for movie making.

    • spidey says:

      And they got Whedon to help with the direction when they were well into filming.

    • NUTBALLS says:

      We analyzed that appearance to death here… he was likely thrilled and prehaps nervous to be invited on the show and sharing the couch with DeNiro, of whom he’s a big fan.

      I wasn’t bothered by his excitable puppy coming out as not everyone has the same ability to tamp down a strong emotional response to a situation. I know there are times when I’m so excited about something I prattle on uncontrollably about it. My friends just smile as they know when I’m really psyched about something, I can’t act cool. I don’t usually realize what I’ve done until afterwards. So I feel for him – I know what it’s like.

      • Clairej says:

        Loved him on Graham. He was so excited to be there with Robert De Niro and his ‘Heat’ impression was brilliant. I cannot wait to see what Taika Waititi does with Thor 3. He is a super talented guy.

  12. Londongal says:

    Yay! MOAR HIDDLES PIECES.

  13. Ninette says:

    Please Let Loki be in Infinity wars!!

  14. spidey says:

    Tom Hiddleston Retweeted
    Kevin McCarthy ‏@KevinMcCarthyTV 49m49 minutes ago Washington, DC
    Geeking out!

    I’m interviewing @twhiddleston live on @fox5dc @ 10:30a!

    Tweet me your fan questions & I’ll pick the best one! #ISawTheLight

    • Allegra says:

      @spidey:
      Now there is a video which Tom teaches the news crew how to do the two-step:
      facebook.com/fox5dc/videos/10154199252727494/

    • MaximeDuCamp says:

      @spidey, Tom and Marc Abraham were in DC for a preview screening followed by a Q&A at the Landmark E Street theater and I was there! Couldn’t believe I scored a pass and made it inside. It was in one of their smaller screening rooms; I’d say there were less than 150 people there.

      First off, I really liked the film and found Tom’s performance absolutely haunting. Elizabeth Olsen and Cherry Jones were also brilliant. My one critique was that the film was a bit disjointed. Although linear, it was more like a series of vignettes from a very specific time in Hank Williams life, centered around his marriage and rising career.

      The crowd, though small, was quite mixed. Yes there were a smattering of 20 something young women, but also plenty of guys and a good portion of the crowd were middle-aged or older. Only one woman there in full-on Loki cosplay, no embarrassing questions (thank the gods), all if the questions pertained to the movie, and there was no screaming (even the picture taking was pretty subdued). All in a all a very respectful crowd.

      Tom looked great and was his usual charming and eloquent self, but he seemed a bit subdued (less animated than even his calmer talk show appearances). Marc Abraham stated that he approached Tom about the project before Thor was released and promised him “I’ll stick with you if you stick with me,” which I hadn’t heard before. At the end of the Q&A Tom led us all in an accapella performance of I saw the Light. Never thought that I get to spend 30 minutes sitting about 6 feet away from Tom Hiddleston (I was in the first row) in DC of all places!

      • Dara says:

        How wonderful! Thank you for sharing your experience.

      • lilacflowers says:

        I suspect he is pretty subdued out of sheer exhaustion and jet lag. He doesn’t seem to have had a break since he flew over from VietNam a week and a half ago.

      • MaximeDuCamp says:

        @lilacflowers oh, yes, no doubt. I get tired just thinking about his schedule and not just since he left Vietnam, but how he seemingly worked on ISTL, High Rise, TNM, and finally Skull Island back-to-back, with very few–if any–breaks in between. Still, I also suspect it was the different energy of a small and rather serious DC crowd, versus the higher energy, bigger crowds of a talk show or having to be “on” for a TV appearance.

      • KTE says:

        That’s an odd thing for Mark to say – he has previously said he first saw Tom in War Horse, which was definitely released months after Thor. Unless he saw War Horse privately before Thor was released, since he is a producer??

      • spidey says:

        Lucky you MAxine, very pleased for you and thanks for telling us about it.

      • icerose says:

        lucky you Maxime

      • MaximeDuCamp says:

        @KTE, you’re right. Maybe he meant The Avengers and the second Thor? But his point was that Tom honored the commitment even while it wasn’t a sure thing (before Marc had the funding maybe?) and his career began to really take off and he probably had other opportunities.

      • Allegra says:

        @MaximeDuCamp:

        Glad that you have such a good time!
        In this interview , Tom said that Marc decided to cast him after War Horse:
        youtube.com/watch?v=T6pe9h-5P5w&feature=youtu.be

  15. spidey says:

    @ Cranberry – answered your query on the last Tom thread. In case you didn’t see it:

    http://www.techlato.com/list-of-wordpress-emoticons/

    • Cranberry says:

      Oh thanks spidey. I did see it and started using them several times on the last thread. You might end up sorry you gave me the link but too late now.
      😀