Tom Hiddleston auditioned to play Thor

Things We Saw Today: Remember When Tom Hiddleston Auditioned to Play Thor?

This article is over 5 years old and may contain outdated information

Recommended Videos

Tom Hiddleston was on The Tonight Show to talk about his Broadway play “Betrayal” when host Jimmy Fallon brought up the initial audition process for 2011’s Thor. Hiddleston is now famous for playing Thor’s sneaky brother Loki, but he didn’t try out for that part.

Hiddleston is always a gracious good sport in interviews, so he doesn’t roll his eyes out of his head when Fallon digs up the old audition footage. The brief clip shows the actor, blond-haired, in a dramatic screentest to play Thor, hammer in hand. Ardent Thor fans have seen this footage before, and giggled over gifs of it for years, but it’s fun watching Hiddleston react to it in real-time. He explains that the “remit” in those days was that anyone who was over six feet with blond hair could have a go at auditioning for Thor, a process that took three months and gave Hiddleston the (brief) hope that he might land the title role.

He reveals that he never even auditioned to play Loki. Clearly casting directors saw something in him (Thor director Kenneth Branagh, who worked with Hiddleston on the TV series Wallander, likely put in a good word), and these days, it’s impossible to imagine anyone else playing Loki—or Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, for that matter. Of the hush-hush upcoming Loki series, Hiddleston could only tell Fallon that it begins production next year. Marvel Studios is always watching.

Scroll to around 4:50 to see Hiddleston demonstrate his acting prowess by making himself cry onscreen over … Baby Yoda, of course.

(via Uproxx, image: Marvel/screengrab)

  • It’s Thanksgiving in America! Nothing else is happening! Everyone you know here is in a food coma!

What did you eat today?

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—


The Mary Sue is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Kaila Hale-Stern
Kaila Hale-Stern
Kaila Hale-Stern (she/her) is a content director, editor, and writer who has been working in digital media for more than fifteen years. She started at TMS in 2016. She loves to write about TV—especially science fiction, fantasy, and mystery shows—and movies, with an emphasis on Marvel. Talk to her about fandom, queer representation, and Captain Kirk. Kaila has written for io9, Gizmodo, New York Magazine, The Awl, Wired, Cosmopolitan, and once published a Harlequin novel you'll never find.