Hollywood star Tom Hiddleston has been portraying fan favorite Loki for twelve years now. There is still no end in sight.
Tom Hiddleston (42) made his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with “Thor” in 2011. His portrayal of the god and anti-hero Loki has been very popular with Marvel fans ever since. The streaming series “Loki”, in which the often arrogant, longest-serving Marvel character is allowed to take center stage for the first time, has even become the most watched Marvel show on Disney+ in the streaming service’s history to date – and will be available from June 6th. Continued with a second season in October.
Tom Hiddleston: The “Accidental” Marvel Star
Hiddleston ended up in the MCU by chance. After a classical British education at Eton College and later the University of Cambridge, the fine character actor first played theater and was then in TV productions such as “Miss Austen Regrets” (2007), a biography of Jane Austen (1775-1817), or the BBC film “The Gathering Storm” (2002) about England’s wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874-1965).
After all, it was director and Oscar winner Kenneth Branagh (62) who gave Hiddleston his start in the MCU. As a leading actor and executive producer, Branagh cast Hiddleston in a recurring role in his BBC film series “Inspector Wallander” (2009-2015) – and did not give the mime a role as director in the fourth MCU entry “Thor” from 2011 just an insignificant role. Here Hiddleston played Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth, 40) brother Loki, the corruptible and charismatic god of practical jokes and deception.
His appearance in Thor gave Hiddleston’s career a huge boost. In an interview with the “Hollywood Reporter” The actor revealed that his Marvel role had “a life-changing effect” on him. Following “Thor,” Hiddleston then played the final boss in “Marvel’s The Avengers” (2012), Marvel Studios’ first superhero team-up film. In the Battle of New York, he is ultimately defeated by Captain America (Chris Evans, 42), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr., 58) and his own brother Thor.
“Thor 2”: From villain to antihero
However, that was just the start of Loki’s big transformation in the MCU. The initially vile, murderous villain figure already makes amends in the second “Thor” film “The Dark Kingdom” (2013) when he supports his brother Thor in the fight against alien dark elves.
Incidentally, Odin’s second-born son (Anthony Hopkins, 85) discovers here that he is actually adopted. The latter circumstance in particular probably contributed significantly to the audience’s identification with the character.
The god of deception cannot really be trusted in “Thor 2” either. At the end of the film, after winning the battle, he grabs the throne of Asgard, the mythical home of Thor, Odin and Loki.
Two congenial playing partners
Hiddleston was the ideal playing partner, especially for his film brother, the athletic Australian actor Chris Hemsworth. The rather coarse blonde giant, who sometimes looks like a real Viking on the screen, can compete and get to grips with Hiddleston’s more intellectual, cunning, complex plan-making Loki in the five MCU appearances together so far.
This buddy dynamic, which can be called classic, also captivates and fascinates the Marvel audience – and also appears again in a slightly modified form in the Marvel series “Loki”, in which Owen Wilson (54) plays Hiddleston’s counterpart.
In “Thor: Day of Decision” (2017), the third entry in the film series about the eponymous Asgardian god of thunder, the two brothers Loki and Thor finally become allies through the fight against their sister, who is played by Oscar winner Cate Blanchett ( 54) embodied goddess of death Hela, are welded together.
Tom Hiddleston as Loki: Too good to die
After the beginning of “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), in which Loki dies at the cruel hands of Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin, 55), Tom Hiddleston’s Marvel career could have basically been over.
But like Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy, 74) in “Dallas” (1978-1991), the fan favorite played by Hiddleston couldn’t simply leave the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Instead of a shower scene, Marvel Studios under boss Kevin Feige (50) simply resurrected Loki in the Disney series named after him using the multiverse.
Originally conceived as a miniseries that would only last for a single season, “Loki” became a huge success and received a sequel in the form of a second season.
Loki forever?
It can also be assumed that Hiddleston’s Loki will also play a significant role in the already announced next “Avengers” film “The Kang Dynasty” (planned release date May 2026).
Hiddleston himself doesn’t seem to tire of his most famous role either. When asked by a fan in 2021 whether he would play the character Loki for the rest of his life, replied the mime: “Yes, absolutely. I’m so lucky to have been able to play Loki for so long. He has so many different aspects, so many different complex characteristics, that every time I play him I find out something new about him.”