When you become part of a franchise as big as Marvel's Cinematic Universe, it is like becoming part of a new family according to many of the stars who have joined the ranks of comic book heroes. When it comes to picking out one individual who always appears to go above and beyond to make those he works with feel like they really are a part of the Marvel family, then it is Tom Hiddleston. For those who need any more proof, Loki stuntwoman, Briana Darnell, who doubled for Sophia Di Martino, posted a story on her Instagram about how the God of Mischief actor is more like the God of Sweetness and Light in real life.
Darnell shared the story with her followers of how Tom Hiddleston was on hand to calm her down when she became extremely panicked while on set. "Adding to the pile of '@twhiddleston is a gentleman and kind human being' stories, he unknowingly stopped me from an intense panic attack on set last year," she said. "While filming Episode 4, I had a brain injury flareup. I couldn't keep focused and was forgetting everything @itssophiadimartino did in rehearsal. It got bad enough that Tom had to step in to tell me what to do and where to go. I was insanely embarrassed as I prided myself at being good at my job, yet I couldn't remember basic choreography." It was at this point that Hiddleston noticed that Darnell wasn't coping well with the moment and was quick to grab her by the shoulders and attempt to calm her down before she could get herself too worked up.
"As my internal anxiety was growing to panic levels, Tom suddenly took me by the shoulders and just held on for a minute with a gentle gaze. I realized later it was actually part of the scene, thus was likely just Tom being in the moment. But I like to think somehow, subconsciously he picked up on me needing comfort at that moment. Touch is my communication style/love language and during COVID touch was especially rare. That simple hold on my shoulders and kind eyes took me down from teetering on a crying panic attack to just mild embarrassment I could then shake off and continue working. I'll never know if Tom did it on purpose or not, but I'll always be grateful to him for it."
It doesn't seem to matter whether Hiddleston is appearing on or off camera, at conventions or in interviews, or even just walking down the street to pick up a coffee, he always seems to bring an air of calm contentment to everyone around him. With no-one seeming to have even the smallest story of him being anything other than the perfect person to work with, it almost seems like he was miscast as the anarchic Marvel character, but on the other hand, it is hard to see anyone else embodying the role in quite the same way.
The first season of Loki is currently streaming on Disney+, along with the behind the scenes Loki episode of Assembled, looking at the making of the finale episode. For the sake of Marvel fans everywhere we hope a season 2 of Loki is in store.