Charming, Funny, and a TRUE Gentlemen. Tom Hiddleston walked in to an interview Suite with 13 ladies including myself. He walked in and introduced and shook hands with each one of us with a smile on his face! Tom Hiddleston plays Loki in Marvel’s the Avengers. He is one of the main characters and THE villain in the movie. He sat in the interview hot seat and totally got each and every mom blogger to fall in love with how nice he is in person. All of his international fans have #teamloki and #lokisladies trending on twitter! Although he plays the villain, many fans feel sorry for his character. We began to interview him as he made us laugh and smile as he answered each and every question with his charming English accent.
Do you prefer being a bad guy or a good guy?
TOM HIDDLESTON: You know, it’s — I love playing both, to be honest. Um, there are different — there are different challenges involved in both… I am interested in flawed heroes and heroic villains.
In “Thor” I personally felt really bad for you. I absolutely loved you and I felt bad for you, because of all the bad things that had happened… Are we going to feel that bad for you in this movie?
TOM HIDDLESTON: I knew I had to up the — up the ante because there’s seven superheroes that make up the Avengers, and, in order for the film to work, the film is the most redemptive, feel-good, kind of fist-pumping story. And, in order for the audience to be pumping their fists for Iron Man, and Hulk, and Thor, and Captain America, they need to overcome a really big obstacle. And, unfortunately, that big obstacle is me.
So, tell us how much you like playing such an evil bad guy.
TOM HIDDLESTON: Well, because I played him before, I kind of feel like I’ve got both my arms around him. And, uh, I understand underneath all of his like, evil and anger and madness and m — mania, there’s a sort of emotional heartbreak. But it was really fun to cut loose and just — [SOUNDS LIKE: let his hair down], literally and metaphorically.
Um, and, uh, Joss — Joss Whedon — said that, uh, y’know, we had to make him more dangerous. We had to make him more menacing. Because — because these superhero films, when they really work, and I think this one does, purely because of Joss’s immaculate writing and direction, the — the sort of fist-pumping redemption-drama is, uh, is earned by the heroes having to overcome an obstacle.
And your fist is pumping for Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor and — and Captain America and all of those guys because I am that obstacle. So, um, someone’s got to do it, basically, and it was really fun. And it was like being a kid, too. There were days where I was — you know, I had a harness underneath my costume, and wires, just underneath it, and, um, attached to the sides, and I was just flying around, like a circus act, like a kid, basically.
How do you find reactions from fans or kids to Loki’s character?
TOM HIDDLESTON: Mark. Mark Ruffalo’s son. I like — I kind of dedicate my performance to his son, his ten-year old, because he was on set a lot. And, um, and like, Joss Whedon and Kevin Feige, the producer, they were enormously supportive on set. They were very complimentary when they liked something that I was doing. I would do a take, and they would say, “Awesome. You got it. Let’s — ” And Kevin Feige would be like, “God, that was great. Let’s move on.” And you get on with the day. The days that Mark’s son was there, he was like, “Awesome job, Tom.
We got it. Let’s move on.” Kevin would say the same thing, and then Mark’s son would say, “Oh, my God! Tom! That was incredible! That was the most awesome thing I have ever seen!” And I’m like, “I am doing this for you.” And, you know, there were days when Mark would come in with — just to watch, because he wanted to watch. He’d be like, “I’m sorry. We’re here again. He just loves you.” And then you realize that that’s the power that these films can have.
It’s such a beautiful thing. It’s a really amazing privilege.
In bringing this character to life, it’s a huge thing, because you know they already have their stories established and things like that. So were there any particular details and nuances you tried to add to the character the audience should really look for?
TOM HIDDLESTON: I hope that anyone who has seen “Thor” can recognize him, and I have — there is still this spiritual damage at the heart of him, underneath his anarchy and his chaos and his anger and destructiveness.
That there is still a vulnerability there. Um. Um…and I hope that people kind of — he’s kind of — stylish. You know.
Despite his hair?
TOM HIDDLESTON: [LAUGHS] Um. He’s just like, even though e’s — he’s like, terrifying and — and hateful, there’s a sort of a — a strange, um, I don’t know, a strange elegance or something that he has.
I hope — I just hope that people love to hate him or hate to love him.
So is Loki really a villain or is he just jealous of his big brother?
TOM HIDDLESTON: I always think of him as an antagonist as opposed to a villain, but only because every villain is a hero in his own mind. Uh, and all of us in the world, we, as we move forward with our lives, we make choices, and we like to think that they’re the right choices.
And Loki is making all the wrong choices. So he’s tragically deluded, and borderline insane, but he still thinks, in the narrative of his life, he’s a hero. So, I guess, let’s just say I believe in flawed heroes and heroic villains, and I think he, Loki, is a kind of a heroic villain, in a way.
So, what would you say that Loki’s chasing in his efforts? We haven’t seen the film, but I know he’s trying to basically take down the human race or take down —
TOM HIDDLESTON: He’s chasing power. But the reason he’s chasing power is because, really, he’s chasing self-esteem. Anyone — I think anyone who, um, anyone who feels powerful has no need to reach for it.
And those — those in the world who feel they aren’t powerful, they seem to have no self-love, no self-esteem, are constantly trying to get the power.
What were your reactions when you read the script for the first time and realized that you had such a big role in this movie?
TOM HIDDLESTON: I did a happy dance.
Literally?
TOM HIDDLESTON: I really, really did. Yeah. Yeah. It was very top secret. I had — I had — it came in paper form. And most scripts come in electronic form now. And they’re all watermarked. So if it ever leaves it has my name on it, but it was only in paper form, hand delivered.
And Joss told me — Joss Whedon told me I was going to be the only villain, but I really couldn’t believe that…
The film you’re about to watch was, uh — there was a blueprint for it — like a blueprint for a building in the screenplay — it’s the most precise, dramatic, violent, and hilarious screenplay that I’ve ever read.
I was like, “You’ve done it.” I wrote him an e-mail…”Joss, you have done it. If you keep this, then we’ve done it.” And I think that achievement is, in itself. He really nailed it. Joss Whedon. We believe in you.