While sitting in a suite at the Trump SOHO in NY waiting for Tom Hiddleston, the actor who plays “Loki” in the movie Marvel’s The Avengers I was a bit anxious because not only was I in a suite at a Trump hotel overlooking NY City….

but I was about to interview Tom (notice how I left off his last name since we are friends now, at least that is what I think) and I didn’t know what to expect being that I have only really known him as “Loki”, a Major Meanie in the film!

So when Tom stepped into the room I was speechless (and by now you probably know that is rare or me).

All of us mommy bloggers were seated in a half circle and I was at one end so he walked straight towards me.  He then extended his arm to shake my hand and asked my name (do you now understand why I was speechless?)..Once I remembered my name, I answered “Leanette” and he repeated it back out loud (oh my!).  Although I wish I could brag that he only did that with me, I won’t lie to you, like a gentleman, he went around the room and did that for every blogger in the room.  However, the next time I tell this story, I may leave the other bloggers out of it…LOL

Now, there is no way I will ever be able to accurately convey how charming and intellectual he is, especially when he does an excellent job of playing the bad guy!  

*Please take note that I am standing right next to him and my arm is around him (respectively of course…again, sorry babe!) After our interview it was hard for me not to be #TeamLoki or one of #LokisLadies (Sorry Babe!)

Moving right along to the interview:

* On whether he prefers playing the role of a bad guy or a good guy

“You know…I love playing both, to be honest. There are different challenges involved in both… I am interested in flawed heroes and heroic villains, because I think…no one’s all wise or all bad, I don’t believe in moral absolutes or moral purity.”

In Stanislavski’s method of acting, “the first question an actor has to ask about his character is “who am I?”, and a director I worked with in London said, actually, a more interesting way of framing that is” to divide it into two questions, “Who do I want to be?” and “Who am I afraid I am?” And most of us are running towards the first and away from the second.”

“When you’re playing the good guy, it’s the first question: “Who do I want to be?” I want to be good and virtuous and kind and decent and funny and generous and warm.”

“And if I’m a bad guy, its like, “Who am I afraid I am?” Jealous, Proud, Angry, Destructive…Having said that, when you play the bad guy you do get to sort of cut loose.”

* If his character in “Thor” was misunderstood

(I asked this question and he takes the time to look the person who asked the question in the eye, so who knows what expression I had on my face…LOL)

“In that film, he is”. However, In the “Avengers”, “he has taken that misunderstanding and swallowed it whole and it’s become kind of like maniacal and egotistical.  In “Thor” he’s somebody who is in the moment, alongside the audience. He’s discovering the, “why” of his life’s story.  “He’s discovered that the narrative that he’s been told, of his personal history is a lie. And so what happens is that his heart is broken, and that heart breaks kind of hard, and turns into something very angry and vengeful, unfortunately. “

…It’s really beautiful and fascinating that one is able to find a quality in Loki that was redeemable. He (referring to Kenneth Branagh) wanted to have the audience believe until the last possible moment that Loki could be recruited to the good side.

* If he considers “Loki” to be a villain

I always think of him as an antagonist as opposed to a villain, but only because every villain is a hero in his own mind. All of us in the world, as we move forward with our lives we make choices, we like to think that they’re the right choices. And Loki is making all the wrong choices. So he’s tragically deluded, and borderline insane, but he still thinks, in the narrative of his life, he’s a hero. So, I guess, let’s just say I believe in flawed heroes and heroic villains, and I think he, Loki, is a kind of a heroic villain, in a way.

* Will the audience feel bad for “Loki” in this movie?

“He does some pretty nasty things” in this movie”… “I knew I had to up the menace and up the ante because there’s seven superheroes that make up the Avengers, and, in order for the film to work…and for the audience to be pumping their fists for Iron Man, and Hulk, and Thor, and Captain America, they need to overcome a really big obstacle. And, unfortunately, that big obstacle is me.”  He then laughs….

“There is a lovely scene with Chris Hemsworth (who plays “Thor”) where you see a glimmer of his vulnerability, but when it comes, he’s sort of the same guy, he’s just yielded to the dark side, you know?”

* Is “Loki” more maniacal in this film than he was in “Thor”?

Yes. More than a little bit, I would say.

*How he researched his role as “Loki”

“… It’s funny because I trained as a theater actor in London, so I don’t mean to sound pretentious, but Shakespeare is always a really easy paragon for me, because he wrote such amazing characters… Iago is a total psychopath and…in the play he basically brings down an entire culture, and you don’t ever find out really why. At the end, someone asks him, “Why did you do this?” And he politely responds with, “What you know, you know.”

* Apparently Tom originally was going for the role of Thor, so he discusses Chris Hemsworth as “Thor”

I was in the running for that role, but I was so grateful that Chris Hemsworth got it. I think he is iconic in the role. I hope something that people love about the film and about his character, is the way we work together. He also has to eat so much chicken. Every single cast member of the “Avengers” is like, Chris Hemsworth actually is Thor. He’s not acting. Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evens were slightly flabbergasted when he walked on set for the first time.”

* Thoughts on how Fans, who are children, react to his character

It’s such a beautiful thing. It’s a really amazing privilege.

*Questioned about doing stunts in the movie

He did his own stunts

* His reaction when he read the script for the first time and realized he had such a big role in this movie

“I did a little dance. I really, really did, because I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone. It was so top secret, it came in paper form. Most scripts come in electronic form now and they’re all watermarked. So if it ever leaves your hands, your name is on it. This was only in paper form, hand delivered. Joss Whedon told me I was going to be the only villain, but I really couldn’t believe that.”

All of us would have loved to have seen his happy dance…maybe next time!

* His thoughts on the script

“It’s the most precise, dramatic, violent, and hilarious screenplay that I’ve ever read.”

Marvel’s The Avengers will be in theaters Tomorrow, 5/4