Feature: 'I AM LOKI' - TOM HIDDLESTON at TOKYO COMIC CON 2023 of CELEBRITY STAGE

Tom Hiddleston: A talented actor known for his role as Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, having won numerous awards including the Golden Globe. His notable works include the "Avengers" series, "Kong: Skull Island," dramas like "Loki" and "The Night Manager." He visited Japan for the Tokyo Comic Con 2023, held from December 8 for three days. "Tokyo Comic Con" is a pop culture festival that provides opportunities for communication with celebrities and exhibits props used in movies. Here, we bring you the highlights of the talk show that Tom participated in during the event.

[Must-see for fans! Scroll down for a more detailed long version]

Responding to the audience's call with a smile, he raised his hand and appeared on stage. After a polite bow, he looked over the entire crowd with a grin, waving his hand. He further delighted the fans by showcasing a finger heart. When the host mentioned, "It's great that you returned after the 2018 Comic Con," he expressed gratitude in Japanese, saying, “Loki ga arigato to ittemasu (Loki says 'Thank you’).”

During the fan’s question segment, when asked about his feelings when he first put on Loki's horns, he replied, “its was extraordinary. The very first time, it was a helmet and my ears are covered and I couldn’t here anything lol.”

Also, when the host proposed doing the "Loki pose" together with everyone, Tom enthusiastically agreed, “Absolutely!” He stood up, struck a pose, and with a playful expression, conveyed “Arigato gozaimasu.” to the audience amidst applause. 

Returning to the topic of Loki's horns, when questioned if the recent ones are not helmet-type, he explained, “Loki was born a prince and he was told by Odin that he was going to be a king. In ‘Loki season 2,’ the horns are the crown of a lonely king, or he understands the burden of his purpose. It's also the most noble.”

Regarding how meeting Loki changed Tom's life and why Loki is so loved, he shared, “Yes, the truth is that playing Loki has changed my life and been one of the most significant things I have done in my life. First of all, I wouldn’t be sitting here without you (Pointing at the audience). The reason I’ve been allowed to play the character for so long is because you have continued to find him interesting so I’m grateful to. I think that for the character who is the god, he is remarkably a human. He is complex, playful, vulnerable, charming, and he is many things. And I think that’s very human to be many things on the inside.“

Additionally, when sought about his emotions during the last scene of “Loki season 2”, he shared, “It was very moving because Loki's final line is ‘I know what I want. I know what kind of god I need to be… for you. For all of us.’ ‘For you. For all of us.’ is the last thing Loki says at the end of the movie 'Thor' but it means something very different now. And as I was playing that last scene, I was thinking of all of the people I have worked with over the last 14 years of playing this character. All the actors, all the directors, all the crew. They've been very meaningful experiences,” while he listed names like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. “Loki may be alone but I was never alone,” he continued, eliciting applause from the crowd. 

Regarding the question about being close to Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom shared, “Benedict and I met making the movie ‘War horse’ which would be made in 2010. And we both learned how to ride horses and we fell off horses a lot (lol). We became very fast friends doing that but we've been friends since then and it's been lovely to see him here. I haven't seen him for a bit but we caught up and we some sushi. I got to work with Benedict in 'Thor Ragnarock.'” 

When asked about his favorite sushi, he replied, “For lunch today, tuna, salmon, yellow tail. I like Wasabi” A playful remark followed, "It's Loki's color!” To which he responded, “Yes (lol)! Green! Maybe that's a variant of Loki(lol)." showing his brightest smile of the day.

Answering to the request to showcase his favorite Loki lines, he said, "The first one that comes to mind is, ‘I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burden with glorious purpose.’ I also like, in season 1, Sylvie says, ‘What makes a Loki a Loki?’ And Loki says, ‘Independent, authority, style.’ But I think my favorite line is, ‘I know what I want. I know what kind of god I need to be… for you. For all of us.’ But I also know there's another one at the end of ‘Thor Ragnarock,’ Thor says, ‘If you were here, I might even give you a hug,’ and Loki says, ‘I'm here.’” The generous offering of four consecutive live iconic lines prompted a thunderous applause and cheers from the audience.

Then, The Cosplayer Gathering segment began, with Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski joining.Together, they welcomed the Marvel cosplayers who filled the stage with high-fives. Tom joyfully raised a stuffed toy of Loki's variant, a crocodile, among the cosplayers. After the photo session, Tom expressed his joy, saying, “All of you look fantastic. I have met so many of you already and things you have said to me have even so kind and so generous. I’m really moved by them and grateful to you. Thank you so much. It means the world to me that the characters I’ve created have resonated in your imaginations.”

As a gift to those on the stage and fans, a video highlighting past MARVEL works was presented by MARVEL then Tom left the stage.

In the continued segment where Mr. Cebulski answers questions from cosplayers, he was asked, "Which multiverse would you like to visit?" In response, he said, "I think it’s cool to create a new universe. A universe of MARVEL characters and Manga characters but if I have to pick one, I’m a X-MEN fan so I would do X-verse.”

Tom's humility and his appreciative stance towards fans were palpable, making this stage understandable as the reason for his worldwide popularity. This event, which took place right after the final episode of "Loki Season 2," was unique in that it offered the rare opportunity to hear live performances of iconic lines by the lead actor, a distinctive feature of Comic-Con.

[A must-see for fans! Detailed long version]

Responding to the audience's call of "Tom Hiddleston!" with a smile, he raised his hand and appeared on stage. After a polite bow, he looked over the entire crowd with a grin, waving his hand. He further delighted the fans by showcasing a finger heart. When the host mentioned, "It's great that you returned after saying at the 2018 Comic Con that you'd like to come back," he expressed gratitude in Japanese, saying, “Loki ga arigato to ittemasu (Loki says 'Thank you’).”

During the fan’s question segment, when asked about his feelings when he first put on Loki's horns, he replied, “The very first time was in 2009, 14 years ago. And its was extraordinary because we were bringing to life a two dimensional image from the comic books and making it three demential. And it was like a crown but also like a kind of statement of intent. It kind of felt magnificent. The very first time, it was a helmet and my ears are covered and I couldn’t here anything lol.”

Also, when the host proposed doing the "Loki pose" together with everyone, Tom enthusiastically agreed, “Absolutely!” He stood up, struck a pose, and with a playful expression, conveyed “Arigato gozaimasu.” to the audience amidst applause. 

Returning to the topic of Loki's horns, when questioned if the recent ones are not helmet-type, he explained, “It’s more like a true crown. It’s so interesting because Loki was born a prince. And he was told by Odin that he was going to be a king. In ‘Loki season 2,’ the horns are the crown of a lonely king, or he understands the burden of his purpose. It's also the most noble.”

Regarding how meeting Loki changed Tom's life and why Loki is so loved, he shared, “Yes, the truth is that playing Loki has changed my life and been one of the most significant things I have done in my life, for me personally. First of all, I wouldn’t be sitting here without you (Pointing at the audience). The reason I’ve been allowed to play the character for so long is because you have continued to find him interesting so I’m grateful to. I think that for the character who is the god, he is remarkably a human. He is complex, playful, vulnerable, charming, and he is many things. And I think that’s very human to be many things on the inside.“

Additionally, when the host praised the excellent ending of “Loki Season 2,” applause erupted from the audience. Tom, placing his hand on his chest, repeatedly said, "Thank you." When sought about his emotions during the last scene, he shared, “It was very moving for me because as you remember, Loki's final line is ‘I know what I want. I know what kind of god I need to be… for you. For all of us.’ And as you remember, ‘For you. For all of us.’ is the last thing Loki says at the end of the movie 'Thor' but it means something very different now. And as I was playing that last scene, I was thinking of all of the people I have worked with over the last 14 years of playing this character. All the actors, all the directors, all the crew. These are very significant. Every project for me is like between six to eight months, sometimes a year and a half of my life. So they've been very meaningful experiences,” while he listed names like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. “It was the end of a journey and Loki may be alone but I was never alone,” he continued, eliciting applause from the crowd. 

The host threw a question to the audience, "If it weren't for Tom playing Loki, wouldn't Loki just be a villain and not have lasted this long?" This led to more applause, and Tom, shaking hands with the host, said, “You’re very kind.”

Regarding the question about being close to Benedict Cumberbatch and whether they talked about the Comic Con, Tom shared, “Yes I have. Benedict and I met making the movie ‘War horse’ which would be made in the summer of 2010. And we both learned how to ride horses like cavalry officers and we fell off horses a lot (lol). We became very fast friends doing that but we've been friends since then and it's been lovely to see him here. I haven't seen him for a bit actually because he's been working on other things but we caught up and we had lunch today. We had some sushi. After that in 2016, I think, I got to work with Benedict in 'Thor Ragnarock' when Loki meets Dr. Strange. It's a quick scene and it's the one that Loki loses, sadly. He's been falling for 30 minutes (lol).” 

When asked about his favorite sushi, he replied, “For lunch today, tuna, salmon, yellow tail and Wasabi. I like Wasabi” A playful remark followed, "It's Loki's color, isn't it (lol)?" To which he responded, “Yes (lol)! Green! Maybe that's a variant of Loki food (lol)." showing his brightest smile of the day.

Answering ing to the request to showcase his favorite Loki lines, he said, "I have a few. The first one that comes to mind is, ‘I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burden with glorious purpose.’ I also like, there's a line in season one and Sylvie says, ‘What makes a Loki a Loki?’ And Loki says, ‘Independent, authority, style.’ But I think actually, if I'm being honest, my favorite line is, ‘I know what I want. I know what kind of god I need to be… for you. For all of us.’ But I also know there's another one in the movies which people here have talked about today which I've loved hearing. At the end of ‘Thor Ragnarock,’ Thor says, ‘If you were here, I might even give you a hug,’ and Loki says, ‘I'm here.’ The generous offering of four consecutive live iconic lines prompted a thunderous applause and cheers from the audience.

Then, The Cosplayer Gathering segment began, with Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski joining. Tom exchanged a firm handshake with Cebulski and, together, welcomed the Marvel cosplayers who filled the stage with high-fives. He joyfully raised a stuffed toy of Loki's variant, a crocodile, among the cosplayers. After the photo session, Tom expressed his joy, saying, “I just want to say, all of you look fantastic. Also I would like to say, I have met so many of you already, this weekend and things you have said to me have even so kind and so generous. I’m really moved by them and grateful to you. Thank you so much. It means the world to me that the characters I’ve created have resonated in your imaginations.”

As a gift to those on the stage and fans, a video highlighting past MARVEL works was presented by MARVEL. When Loki appeared on screen, the audience erupted into cheers. Tom, passing through the fan aisle, left the stage.

In the continued segment where Mr. Cebulski answers questions from cosplayers, he was asked, "Which multiverse would you like to visit?" In response, he said, "There are so many, but I think it’s cool to create a new universe. Maybe a universe of MARVEL characters and Manga characters, Evangelion, Gundam…Cool multiverse, right?  But if I have to pick one, I’m a X-MEN fan so I would do X-verse.”

Tom's humility and his appreciative stance towards fans were palpable, making this stage understandable as the reason for his worldwide popularity. This event, which took place right after the final episode of "Loki Season 2," was unique in that it offered the rare opportunity to hear live performances of iconic lines by the lead actor, a distinctive feature of Comic-Con.

Photo Credit: [Ⓒ2023 Tokyo Comic Con All rights reserved./ Ayaka Ozaki]

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