While at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, I landed an extended video interview with Tom Hiddleston. He was in town to promote two upcoming films – Ben Wheatley‘s thriller High Rise and Marc Abraham’s biopic I Saw the Light – that couldn’t be more different.
In High-Rise, adapted from the J.G. Ballard novel of the same name, Hiddleston plays Dr. Laing. He’s moved a few miles west of London and starts to meet some very strange people that share his building. His character exists in a very chaotic world filled with drugs, booze and sex as Wheatley chronicles class warfare in the confines of a 1970s-set apartment building. Trust me, you’ve never seen Hiddleston play a role like this before.
And on the completely opposite end of the spectrum is I Saw the Light. This drama chronicles the rise and fall of legendary country musician Hank Williams (Hiddleston), who quickly shot to fame only to reach an untimely death at the age of 29. Elizabeth Olsen plays Williams’ wife, Audrey Sheppard, who was both his manager and duet partner. The two had a tumultuous marriage, worsened by Williams’ addictions to alcohol, morphine, and other painkillers he was prescribed for his spina bifida. The film also stars Bradley Whitford, David Krumholtz, Maddie Hasson, and Cherry Jones and will be in theaters November 27th.
During the interview Hiddleston talked about what drew him to these two very different films, whether or not he still has to audition for roles and if he feels like he’s made it, the experience of doing press for these films along with Crimson Peak, future projects like Kong: Skull Island and Thor: Ragnarok, and more. Check out what he had to say below.
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Tom Hiddleston Time Index:
- 0:24 – Talks about transitioning from filming Crimson Peak, High Rise, and I Saw the Light to doing press rounds for those same movies.
- 1:50 – Comments on what drew him to two very different films: High Rise and I Saw the Light.
- 4:34 – Talks about whether or not he still has to audition for roles and if he feels like he’s made it.
- 6:32 – Talks about his next project: Kong: Skull Island.
- 8:17 – Reveals what he knows – or doesn’t know - about Thor: Ragnarok and his Marvel movie contract.
