#310316

Interviewing Tom Hiddleston in person is the best and the worst for all the obvious reasons.

You tell everyone you’re doing it and everyone you tell you’re doing it (and you DO tell everyone, because, come on, you get to interview Tom Hiddleston in person, what are you gonna do at that point, NOT tell everyone?) has so many opinions about what you and Tom Hiddleston should talk about. Namely: Marvel, Colbert sing-alongs, whether or not he would marry them sight unseen, some other things, but especially that third one. But the fact of the matter is that you are interviewing Tom Hiddleston about his role as Hank Williams in Marc Abraham’s I Saw The Light (which opened in NY and LA last week, and is opening in D.C. this Friday, April 1) and you really only get a handful of minutes with him, and let’s face it, you’re not going to get to talk about most of that stuff.

Having said that, I am also happy to report that in person Tom Hiddleston is as tall and handsome and perfectly accented and gregarious as you think/hope he would be and he laughs a lot and wears a lot of navy. And Marc Abraham is also tall and distinguished and a UVA alum which basically makes him a D.C. son of sorts, and they seem to still very much enjoy each other’s company despite all that filming and all that film promoting they’ve been doing together, and spending half an hour in their company is a joy.

Now, that we got that out of the way… back to the order of business why we’re here. I Saw The Light.

As is customary and sensible, we start the conversation from the beginning – the casting. Hank Williams, as tragic and heroic of a figure as he is, is also such a quintessentially American figure. One could argue there is no more American role out there than the role of the “Frank Sinatra of country music.” And he is played by a very British man. A very talented man but a very British man nonetheless. So, how did Marc decide on Tom, and how did Tom stumble upon the role, and did they ever worry about, you know, what the good people of America would say about that?

Marc, probably on account of not being an active British theatre goer or a superhero fan, was only vaguely aware of Tom at the time, but saw him in Midnight in Paris, and in War Horse, and was struck by both the talent and also Hiddleston’s likeness to Williams. At the time, with the script making the rounds, he was seeing seemingly everyone about the role of Hank, but something about Tom stuck with him and he set about making the calls inquiring about this guy. When Hiddleston got his hands on the script, he felt attracted to the universal truths in it and this man who brought such joy to everyone who listened to his music, whose legacy was not heavy, even if his life was. The demons and the demands didn’t stop him from providing comfort and release to the people everywhere.

Was Tom ever worried about stepping into these shoes?

Not especially. He calls this one of his most demanding roles as of yet, aside from Coriolanus, and knew he had to do the legwork. And the legwork included losing the weight, and coloring his hair black, and practicing guitar until his fingers bled. It definitely was a challenge at times, to a point where he remembers one day, during his off time, running in Shreveport and looking up, and addressing Hank with “You gotta help me out here buddy” (at this point, Hiddleston flashes his perfect smile and asks “Should I admit to talking to myself? I don’t know if that’s a good idea”), but in the end the work paid off.

And, as for that potential casting backlash from the American public?

According to March, he never once worried about it. He knew, in his gut, this was the right choice, and that people would know and see it when they saw the movie. And Hiddleston, having already gotten one other U.S. legend under his belt (F.Scott Fitzgerald in Midnight in Paris) felt he was ready for another.

Hiddleston performs all of Williams’s songs himself in the film (a brave and potentially HIGHLY risky decision that does pays off) and the likeness at times is almost startling, especially when the angles and cheekbones align just so. The film, much like the man it portrays, is not perfect but also captivating at times, and most of those times come from when the audience is invited to watch Hiddleston BE Hank on stage.

Having now LIVED it, did the film change his perspective on country music?

There certainly is a new appreciation for it, and for what a great storytelling medium it is. Country music just lends itself so perfectly to being a vehicle for emotion and being immersed in it makes one understand that better, and offers a different opportunity and challenge for the actor.

In fact, Abraham often consciously decided to juxtapose some of Hank’s more dark moments with upbeat music, placing performances of “Hey Good Lookin'” or “Move It On Over” to book-end times when Hank finds out that his first wife Audrey (played by Elizabeth Olsen) had an abortion without him knowing. Of course some songs had their place and there was no changing that out. Hank Williams sang “Lovesick Blues” the first time he played the Opry and its spot in the film remains the same chronologically.

What was Tom’s favorite song to perform?

It probably WAS “Lovesick Blues,” because it was so hard and conquering it felt so good as a result, but he just loved performing in general. They both recall one particularly, “ball-bustingly cold” day in Shreveport, where Hiddleston was wearing nothing but a thin white fringe suit and he just wouldn’t stop singing. All the actors playing his back-up band were actual musicians, and it turned into a real Hank Williams tribute concert. Though, Abraham laughs, at some point, they may have snuck in a Mumford & Son song or two. (Ed note: If you wish you were witnessing this in in person, trust us, we’re right there with you.)

The film has, thus far, been receiving mixed reviews from critics, but to Abraham and Hiddleston, it rung true to the people they cared ringing true the most to: Williams’ family.

Abraham says that he didn’t talk to them much because trying to please everyone would have been impossible, but Jett Williams and Holly Williams came to one of the preview screenings and hugged them both afterwards, saying “Not everyone will be happy, but everyone will feel respected”.

In the end, what do they hope people walk away from the film?

According to Hiddleston, all the most powerful movies deal with the human condition, and he feels the that this move would provide the filmgoer another inspite of it. Hank was so blindsided by the sheer velocity of his life, he lost sight of the essential, basic things, the things that could have brought him solace. He used to say that the early afternoon is the lonesomest part of the day, and those are the words of a person who had lost something and couldn’t find it again. In some ways, despite singing the titular song, Hank couldn’t see the light himself. And the film can serve as a reminder not to do that, to enjoy the simpler side of life.

Plus, of course, an opportunity for everyone to both discover and/or rediscover Hank’s music, without which, arguably, a big portion of the modern American song book catalog would not exist. Do that. No matter what, DO THAT.