The movie Tom Hiddleston watched 50 times before turning 10: “I’ve always been a cinephile”
As the scheming, ever-resurrecting god of mischief, Loki, Tom Hiddleston has been a part of some of the biggest movies of the 21st century. It’s not just in Marvel where the smooth operator has had a chance to shine. Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak, Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive, Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, Hiddleston truly has worked with the best of the best, in terms of filmmaking, not their personal lives. I’ll let you decide who that disclaimer applies to.
Prior to his big screen success, Hiddleston trod the familiar path of theatre and seldom-seen TV shows. He was a big fan of James Bond growing up, claiming that, as a Brit, the superspy was the “centre of the world” at the time. However, it turns out that another dashing hero played a big role in his cinematic education, only this one was based across the pond.
Speaking to Indie London, the star gave us an insight into his early days as a film lover. “In terms of the film industry, and what’s had an impact on me personally… I suppose I’ve just always been a cinephile,” he admitted. “I was a cinephile as a child and I’m a cinephile now. Your tastes change as you grow older but I grew up on Steven Spielberg films. Before the age of 10 I must have seen Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark about 50 times.”
Raiders of the Lost Ark is, of course, the first movie to star Harrison Ford as everyone’s whip-cracking graverobber, Indiana Jones. It’s unclear if Hiddleston is calling the film ‘Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark’ or if he’s referring to the two as separate entities. If he were a proper cinephile, he would have known the original title of the movie omitted Indy’s name. It was only added once there were other films in the franchise, for consistency’s sake.
Pedantry to one side, this detail was particularly significant, as Hiddleston was giving this interview to promote his appearance in War Horse. Who directed War Horse, you ask? None other than Steven Spielberg. “[I] always wanted to be on a horse, wearing a hat, with John Williams writing the theme tune,” the actor continued. “Low [sic] and behold, I’m on a horse, in a hat, with John Williams writing the theme tune! So, I do feel as though I’m lucky enough to be living out some kind of dream.”
Based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, War Horse tells the story of Joey, a horse that ends up seeing military action as part of World War I, and his attempts to be reunited with his young owner. Hiddleston plays Captain James Nicholls, a British army officer who buys Joey to use in battle. Spoiler alert, but things don’t end well for the good captain, as he is killed during a skirmish with the Germans. He might not have lasted very long, but Hiddleston was key in moving the plot along, which has got to mean something.
When the highest-grossing movie director of all time comes calling, you don’t turn them down. For Hiddleston, this wasn’t just an opportunity to work with one of the greats; this was a chance to make a childhood dream come true.
