Loki going from Marvel Studios’ God of Mischief to God of Stories gave actor Tom Hiddleston the opportunity to explore the full arc of the fan-favorite anti-hero. From his first appearance in Thor, directed by Kenneth Branagh, to his many deaths in The Avengers films, to finally getting the throne he always sought at the end of Disney+’s Loki, it’s a long tenure Hiddleston feels honored to be a part of.
“Loki is ‘a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment,’” Hiddleston told Backstage Magazine, quoting playwright George Bernard Shaw, “and I want to make it burn as brightly as I can before passing it on to future generations.”
It all came full circle for Hiddleston when he was shooting that final moment of Loki season two, when the character walks toward his glorious purpose—now changed to be the God of Stories holding the multiverse web together. In order to ascend the throne of his new path and get those final farewell shots, episode co-director Aaron Moorhead made a suggestion to Hiddleston: “He said to me, ‘Why don’t you go back, if you can bear it, and watch some of your work [over] the last 15 years? Take it in, see what it means to you, and then carry it when you step out onto the stage.’”
Hiddleston revealed he watched clips spanning the Thor and Avengers movies, as well as from earlier episodes of Loki, recalling all the relationships forged with his castmates to tell modern superhero myths that allowed him to turn a villain into a hero. It was an inspiring experience. “I thought, what Loki is doing, he is doing for his friends. And so, Tom, why don’t you do it for your friends?” Hiddleston said. “That’s where the two of us met in that moment. And then I was so grateful I had this most amazing crew, and we did it together.”
Hiddleston recalled the “beautiful prologue” of the first Thor movie, where Anthony Hopkins as Odin tells his sons: “Only one of you can ascend to the throne, but both of you were born to be kings.” It’s what really brought it home for the actor. “At the end of season two, Loki is sitting on a kind of throne; but it’s not arrived in the shape he expected, and there’s no glory in it,” Hiddleston shared. “There’s a kind of burden, and he’s alone. He’s doing it for his friends, but he has to stay there without them. There’s a poetic melancholy there which I found very moving.”
But in the end, he doesn’t feel like it’s all sad. Loki’s journey may or may not be over—but for now, Hiddleston is just happy to feel that at least this era has been fulfilling. “I’m so aware that the reason I’ve been able to play him for so long is because of the audience’s curiosity and passion,” he said. “I’ve been delighted to find that for a character of such stature, he’s remarkably human. Many of the characteristics that people connect to in Loki are deeply human feelings. That’s been the pleasure, is infusing this elevated character with humanity.”
Loki is now streaming on Disney+.
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