Check out the behind-the-scenes clip.
It turns out that, when Tom Hiddleston was auditioning to be in 2011's Thor, he was actually up for the role of the God of Thunder, not Loki, his mischievous brother -- and the audition tape is a thing to behold.
The 38-year-old actor visited The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday, where he discussed the auditioning process and, only later, getting offered the villainous role.
"Basically, at the time, they were looking for less well-established actors, so that the audience didn't have an association," he told the late-night host. "They just wanted people to see these new characters, these new actors and the remit was, if you're over six foot and you've got blonde hair, you can come at have a pop at it. So… I never auditioned for Loki, I only auditioned for Thor, which is nuts."
At this point, Jimmy Fallon revealed that Marvel had sent them Hiddleston's audition tape, which immediately elicited a somewhat embarrassed expression from the actor. He covered his face as the late-night host introduced the clip, which shows the leading man wielding a miniature version of Thor's hammer, sporting long blonde locks and delivering the superhero's lines with gusto.
During the interview, Hiddleston also chatted about his starring role in Loki, the upcoming Disney+ show focusing on his Marvel character.
"It is amazing. I never expected it. You know, I auditioned for the first Thor film 10 years ago, in 2009, and I just thought I was auditioning or a movie, you know? An interesting part. An interesting movie," he said. "Back then, the Marvel universe was only… they'd just made Iron Man and I thought, 'I'll have a go.' Didn't expect to be cast at all, so I've got my own show. So exciting. We go into production next year and that's about as much as I can tell you."
Hiddleston's discussion of his earliest days in the MCU arrives at the same time as Scarlett Johansson's interview in the latest issue of Vanity Fair, where she discusses initially getting passed up for the coveted role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2.
"I was visiting my husband at the time at work," she says, referring to ex-husband Ryan Reynolds. "I remember being in a random hotel somewhere. And I got that call and I was so, so disappointed. And then that was it. You know, life went on. I mean, I've certainly had enough experience of rejection."
It turns out, the role went to Emily Blunt. But she quickly had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts and the role became Johansson's.
"I'm not one to hold a grudge or anything," she tells the publication. "I was super excited about it. And I met with Jon [Favreau, the film's director] again, and we had a funny conversation about how he had not cast me. But I was excited. I was so stoked."
The 35-year-old actress also opens up about when she learned that her character was going to die in Avengers: Endgame. The revelation came just days before the Avengers: Infinity War script arrived.
"[Producer] Kevin Feige called me, as was kind of normal, just to discuss whatever the script was and what was going on. But I think he called me to tell me that. I was surprised, but I also kind of wasn't surprised at the same time," she says. "I think we all knew there were going to be some big losses."
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