Actor Tom Hiddleston recently opened up to Lily James about playing Loki, during Variety’s Actor on Actor series. He spoke at length about playing the character over the decades and opening up new layers of the character for the audience.
“Loki’s changed so much over the years for me. I was cast when I was 29, and I’m 41,” Hiddleston told James. The series that debuted earlier this year has made significant changes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, such as cracking open the multiverse and familiarizing the fans with the concept of variants - the same character from a different timeline. But most of all the series ends up giving us a new perspective on Loki, Hiddleston tells,
Initially, with the wigs and the costume, I was always trying to break out of the mask. Let something honest come through. By the time we got to the series, Loki’s stripped of all the things that are familiar. Immediately, he’s literally stripped and put in a jumpsuit, and his status is gone. Everyone knows who the character is now. Let’s open him up and find new aspects of him and challenge the character to change and grow.
Another aspect that the show brought to us was Loki coming out as a bisexual. In Episode 3 Loki tells Sylvie (Sophia D’Martino) that he’s had a romantic past with both princes and princesses. Although it was just a single line of dialogue, nonetheless, it opens up new avenues for the character and fans. “In the MCU. Back from my early days of researching the character in myths, the identity of Loki was fluid in every aspect. In gender, in sexuality. It’s an ancient part of the character, and it hadn’t emerged in the stories we’ve told,” the actor said.
Further adding, “How incredible. What an impact that can make on such a widely seen universe, which becomes people’s religion. And for people to feel represented and to see themselves, it’s just so important.” For Marvel Studios, it was the first baby step in direction of inclusion and diversity. Creator Stan Lee always told the stories of relatable characters that the movies failed to acknowledge for a long time. Hiddleston explained, “It’s a small step. There’s so much more to do. But the Marvel Cinematic Universe has to reflect the world we live in. Extraordinary character, in a way, to contain so much.”
Adding, “So it was an honor to bring that up. It was really important to me. It was really important to [director] Kate Herron and [showrunner] Michael Waldron, and I’m pleased that we could bring it into our story.” While we are yet to see how the storytellers choose to further Loki’s sexuality it was a breath of fresh air to finally see our favorite characters being more relatable than ever.
Loki Season 1 is streaming on Disney+ now.