When the big-budget, cinematic incarnation of Thor, Norse god of thunder, began swinging his mighty hammer in theatres last month, much of the media hype focused on Aussie beefcake Chris Hemsworth in the lead role. But as any fan of the comic book source material knows, it’s Loki who typically steals the show. And as played onscreen by Tom Hiddleston, the Trickster god is back in the spotlight.
The buzzy new star is also onscreen right now—way, way, wa-aa-ay on the other end of the filmmaking spectrum—in the role of literary legend F. Scott Fitzgerald in director Woody Allen‘s surprise box-office hit, “Midnight in Paris.”
He’ll also turn up during the holidays in “War Horse,” the Steven Spielberg-directed weeper adapted from the stage play that just won a bunch of Tony Awards.
Hiddleston, 30, is from Westminster, London. He graduated in 2005 from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. When he was still in school, Hiddleston’s eye-catching performance in a stage production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” led to his first TV roles, including an acclaimed adaptation of “Nicholas Nickleby” and the role of Winston Churchill‘s son in the Emmy-winning television movie “A Gathering Storm.”
In a stroke of good luck, he also landed a part in the BBC drama series “Wallander,” starring his “Thor” director, Kenneth Branagh.
Hiddleston, Branagh and their screenwriters imagined that Loki saw himself as “a misunderstood hero… He is super intelligent, and he’s a shape-shifter with a chess master’s kind of strategizing,” the actor told NYMag.com in early May.
“I think Loki’s intelligence is never switched off. Let’s put it this way: He has really big, evil plans that will take more than his thunderous brother to put a stop to, but that doesn’t mean that the layers aren’t there.”
Hiddleston also joked about his fantastical get-up: “Yes, my eyebrows were plucked to within an inch of their lives.”
As for his private life, he plays it coy. “Yes, there is someone,” he revealed—and that’s all he revealed—in a January ’10 profile. Scuttlebutt says he and “Thor” costar Kat Dennings were seeing each other, but those reports are unconfirmed.
Trivia: Hiddleston actually screen-tested for the role of Thor. But he left such a notable impression that Branagh felt he was perfect for the role of Loki. He is currently reprising the role in “The Avengers,” which will be released next summer.
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