Tom Hiddleston’s new movie, I Saw the Light, opened last weekend but hardly anyone noticed amidst the bat-noise of Superhero Face Punch. But Hiddleston did his duty and promoted the movie, making several talk show appearances and being visible. As I noted before, this is not the same Tom we fell into Freebie Five with back when his fame was shiny and new. This ostensibly is a more grown up and reserved Tom, one who has to be “cajoled” into singing along with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show. Once upon a time, Hiddles would have leapt at the chance to sing, and maybe even dance, but now he’s going to front like he doesn’t want to. (Lainey: unless you ask him about Bond.)
It’s a busy month for Totally Normal Not At All Dorky Tom. Besides I Saw the Light, he has Ben Wheatley’s High Rise premiering on demand at the end of the month, plus The Night Manager begins airing in the US on April 19. And then, of course, this summer he’ll be filming Thor: Ragnarok, returning to the Marvel fold which birthed him. A lot of Hiddleston’s early enthusiasm seemed to stem from a place of legit appreciation for the enormous career boost that was the Thor/Avengers double-whammy. Some of the Marvel cast had to warm up to being part of that pop culture wave (ahem, Chris Evans), but Hiddleston seemed to understand right away what a huge opportunity it was, and made the most of it.
But he’s been out of it for three years—by the time he’s promoting Ragnarok next year, it will be a solid four. And I can’t help but wonder how Totally Normal Not At All Dorky Tom handles Marvel press. Previously, Saint Tom the Huge Dork was the fun one, while Chris Hemsworth was the promotional straight man. Now they’re both straight men. And they will, of course, be accompanied https://www.laineygossip.com/Cate-Blanchett-in-talks-to-join-cast-of-Thor-Ragnarok/41474 by The Incomparable Cate Blanchett, who is guaranteed to pull a lot of focus. Chris Hemsworth has always been happy to sit back and let someone else do the heavy lifting on these press tours. But how will it be for Tom Hiddleston 2.0 to not be the center of attention on a Marvel press tour?
