Tom Hiddleston: You never know if Loki ‘is a hero or a villain or an anti-hero’

Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi visits UK

Tom Hiddleston covers the latest issue of Empire, as we discussed previously. He’s currently promoting the Disney-Plus series Loki, a stand-alone series focused on what happened to Loki after he did that thing. Something with time, something with Owen Wilson. Marvel and Disney obviously put a lot of money into the series and I’m fully expecting Tom to promote the hell out of it, which means an old-school Hiddles promotional tour, which I desperately need. I need to spend some time over the next few months reading Tom’s over-earnest intellectualizing of the Loki character. Did you know that Loki is – gasp – a shapeshifter? Did you know that it’s difficult to get a handle on a character who shape-shifts??

Speaking to Empire in his world-exclusive new cover interview, Hiddleston talks about how fitting Loki’s font-shifting title card is when it comes to the show and the character. “I want to preserve the freshness of the show for when it emerges, but something to think about is the [show’s] logo, which seems to refresh and restore,” he teases. “The font of how Loki is spelled out seems to keep changing shape. Loki is the quintessential shapeshifter. His mercurial nature is that you don’t know whether, across the MCU, he’s a hero or a villain or an anti-hero. You don’t know whether you can trust him. He literally and physically changes shape into an Asgardian guard, or into Captain America repeatedly. Thor talks about how he could change into a snake.”

He continues: “I think that shapeshifting logo might give you an idea that Loki, the show, is about identity, and about integrating the disparate fragments of the many selves that he can be, and perhaps the many selves that we are. I thought it was very exciting because I’ve always found Loki a very complex construct. Who is this character who can wear so many masks, and changes shape, and seems to change his external feeling on a sixpence?”

[From Empire]

Shocked that he didn’t bring Shakespeare into it! Perhaps he’s saving that for later in the promo tour! I can’t wait. As for what he says here… I think Tom is so happy to play Loki because he simply has a lot of fun with it. Loki is a fun character to play, there’s a lot to do for an actor, especially an actor who enjoys being a cheeseball and chewing up the scenery, on screen and on the promotional trail. Oh God, Tom is going to be on the cover of GQ again and he’s going to recite another sonnet.

Betrayal Opening Night Party - Arrivals.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, covers courtesy of Empire.

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30 Responses to “Tom Hiddleston: You never know if Loki ‘is a hero or a villain or an anti-hero’”

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  1. Camil says:

    Yes, please, I need more Hiddles after this horrible pandemic.

  2. Lightpurple says:

    We have fresh baked cookies on the Veranda: milk chocolate & toffee; white chocolate raspberry thumbprints; and Nutella cookies shaped like snakes/serpents because Loki changed himself into a snake and Tom is filming Essex Serpent. Mark & Colin will deliver to your car. I hope that filming doesn’t interfere with promotion, which will be limited any way due to Covid.

    • Nanea says:

      Thanks for keeping up with having refreshments on the veranda, even if the circumstances have changed since you started it back in the day, Lightpurple! Good old times!

      I think most of the promos will be virtual, and I really hope for lots of deep, slightly cringey interviews in the tested and true tradition of the Hiddles we all cherish and adore.

    • Roserose says:

      I’ve missed the Veranda so much! Huzzah for the Veranda!

    • Alarmjaguar says:

      Honk, honk from my car to the veranda

  3. Char says:

    I hope this series dive into Loki’s magical abilities and his powers, which were very subdued in the movies. The man is a shapeshifter, a master of magic, a frost giant and all he did was fight with a knife? Please, I want to see Loki going full sorcerer just like Wanda and Doctor Strange.

  4. Case says:

    A lot of actors look down on these kinds of roles, even as they happily collect a paycheck for them. I think it’s endlessly sweet and pretty cool that he, a genuinely intelligent person has so much respect for the role even though it’s “just a comic book movie/show.” Loki is a fantastic character in every iteration — mythology, book retellings of mythology, movies, etc.

    I love the header image here. He’s such a dork. I adore him for it. We need more Toms in the world.

    • Maxime duCamp says:

      Couldn’t have said it better. I really admire his work ethic and that he seems to approach every role, whether it’s as a villain in a tent-pole Marvel film to his role as Henry V in the Hollow Crown adaptation of the Shakespeare plays, to Thomas Sharpe in a somewhat campy Gothic romance with the same amount of rigor and he shows up and promotes them even when they’ve already received not great reviews (ISTL).

    • Lucky says:

      Yes, I like that he’s not snobbish about commercial roles at all.

  5. pravdaverdad says:

    Tom 2 days in a row!

    • Lightpurple says:

      The full article and more pictures come out tomorrow

    • Maxime duCamp says:

      I know!!! I keep commenting in hopes of continued TH content.

      Personally, not the hugest Marval fan, which doesn’t mean that I haven’t enjoyed the Marvel films that I sought out because there were actors in them who’s work I enjoy. Nothing wrong with Marvel or other big tent-pole franchises but they are a) not my primary jam and b) I don’t want them to be the ONLY types of films that get made or promoted. But as I get older and especially during the pandemic, I’m much more of “I support whatever gives people joy that doesn’t hurt other people.”

      All that being said, I’m glad that Tom has the opportunity to do the Loki series and give the character the ending he deserves and I look forward to watching it, but I also hope that it wraps up this period in his life so he’s free to do more theater, other prestige limited series, and other types of movies (as well as carving out some time to live and relax). Although I thought I read a rumor that they’d already ordered a second season, so who knows.

      • Justme says:

        Well he is currently filming The Essex Serpent with Claire Danes, which has resulted in many many pictures from location shooting. He is playing a (hot) Victorian vicar. Lots of windswept hair, running and just standing around looking gorgeous. So there is a prestige limited series!

      • Maxime duCamp says:

        Thanks, @ Justine. Rest assured I have seen the hot vicar photos and am looking forward to The Essex Serpent, which was an unexpected pleasant surprise, especially after the Netflix series the White Stork disappeared from his IMDB page.

  6. Alarmjaguar says:

    Watch it, Kaiser, I love Loki and will totally be watching this as soon as it airs. (Is it weird that I don’t get the Hiddles hotness except when he is Loki? Probably)

  7. Jill says:

    I’m so in. All the Hiddles content in its full earnest, dorky glory–like rain after a long, long drought.

  8. mrs.no says:

    I appreciate the nostalgia that I experienced with this Loki promo stuff , but honestly, I’d rather have a couple more pictures of him with Zawe…are they still together?God I hope so.

    • Maxime duCamp says:

      I believe that they were a couple; have no idea one way or the other if they still are, but it’s never been confirmed by them or anyone close to them. As a former supervisor once said, “we were all told that there were weapons of mass destruction and we all know how that turned out.”

      I get the curiosity, but if they are still together, I’m happy for them both that they’ve been able to keep their relationship private.

      • Case says:

        Agreed. The privacy is obviously very deliberate because of the circus of his last relationship (plus people are crazy and racist and I’m sure Tom and Zawe are painfully aware of that).

        He’s talked enough post-Taylor about keeping his private life to himself and prioritizing what’s important for us to infer he has no intention of ever being loud with a romantic partner again. I think that’s smart. He’s always seemed a bit sensitive and self-conscious (not saying that in a bad way), and I don’t see any way how having a public relationship would be healthy for that type of person.

      • mrs.no says:

        sweet jesus, mary and all the saints. Loki is great, I love that he has this opportunity, but I’d rather see him in something non-marvel related again. hence boredom.
        Also. I didn’t say I wanted pictures from his/their bedroom! I’m on a gossip site speculating on an actor’s love life like a billion of others. I get that he needs privacy. I think it’s smart bc of his past relationship fails, but I also really like Zawe and I loved their chemistry, so – like any fan – I wouldn’t mind if we had some pics from some outing or a premiere.

        JEsus. That’s what I get for actually commenting on here.

      • Justme says:

        Yeah, during the Betrayal run Zawe was actually asked about the rumors of a relationship. She just sort of deflected the answer (even the interviewer couldn’t figure out if they were together after her answer). She’s always been very private herself, never even naming her previous boyfriend with whom she lived. They probably both want it that way. (But I’m with you, @mrs.no. I’d love to see a picture!😊)

      • Maxime duCamp says:

        @mrs. no, Wow; no one was chastising you for asking your question just stating my converse opinion that’s it’s great for them both that they’ve been able to keep that part of their private life private. I never called you out for asking if they were still dating.

        FWIW–and this is not directed at anyone or any specific comment–part of my work involves verifying information and that, along with what’s happened in the last decade perhaps has made me sensitive to people presenting speculation as 100% fact, even on a gossip site where speculation is par for the course. So that’s why I included the reminder that we don’t really know anything about the state of their relationship, now or last year. Personally, I like what I’ve seen and read about Zawe and if they are a couple, I hope that it works out for them.

      • Case says:

        @mrs.no It definitely wasn’t my intent at all to criticize what you were saying or you wishing we had more pics — I agree, and I hope they’re together! I don’t think it was Maxime’s intent either. I was just speculating why they’re so quiet. Please keep commenting. 🙂

      • mrs.no says:

        @all I get it, it’s fine.. these past years have been a bumpy ride both for him and his fans so I get why everyone gets defensive. we’ll see more of him when he’s comfortable enough. (I still reserve the right to like them as an (imaginary) couple tho 🙂

  9. JanetDR says:

    I just started watching The Night Manager because of celebitchies comments on a previous post. Thanks!

  10. Grant says:

    I’m really excited for Loki on Disney+. All of the MCU Disney+ series have been stellar thus far and I have no doubt that will continue with Loki. I also hear that Lady Sif (from the first two Thor movies) will be back. I’m excited to see what happens with her character because it seems like they sort of forgot about her after the second Thor movie.

    • Lightpurple says:

      She appeared in several episodes of Agents of SHIELD. She wasn’t in Ragnarok because Jaime Alexander’s television show was filming at the same time as the movie