Tom Hiddlestonis opening up about the “life-changing” friendship that helped him land the role of Loki in 2011’sThor.
The 38-year-old actor spoke toThe Hollywood Reporterand revealed it was Kenneth Branagh, the film’s director, who cast him for the role.
“He saw me in a Shakespeare production in a theater in London, he then asked me to perform with him in the television seriesWallanderfor the BBC,” Hiddleston explained. “We then did a Chekhov play in the West End, and then he cast me as Loki in the firstThorfilm.”
He added, “So actually we ended up spending about 12 months working together in different media.”
Marvel Studios
Hiddleston credits the close-knit acting industry for helping him star in the film alongside acting heavyweightsAnthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård andNatalie Portman, as well asChris Hemsworth.
“At the end of that experience I had learned so much from him,” Hiddleston said of Branagh. “But then I realized that he used to look up to Derek Jacobi and Anthony Hopkins. And when I was playing Loki for the first time and Anthony Hopkins was playing my father, [Hopkins] told me he used to look up to Richard Burton.”
Kenneth Branagh and Tom Hiddleston.Dave Benett/Getty
He added, “So I realized that the creative industries are in a constant feedback loop of re-inspiration and imagination.”
“I knew [Loki] was a complex figure. Intelligent yet vulnerable. Angry and lost and broken and witty,” Hiddleston said of his character.
He added, “All I can tell you is that it is calledLoki. It is a new departure, but I can’t explain why.”
source: people.com
