Tom Hiddleston on Loki's "glorious purpose," quest for power
Loki star Tom Hiddleston: "What is reality if there are other, different ways of looking at reality?"
There’s a line from The Avengers that all Loki fans love: “I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose.” Tricked, in effect, by the man he believed was his father and fully convinced he’s smarter and more righteous than his burly brother Thor, Loki has spent his adult life trying to rise to what he believes is his pre-ordained right to power, come what Avengers may. But then what? If Loki takes over Asgard or even Midgard, then what happens? If Loki is, in fact, born to lead, then what will he lead all of us toward?
It’s one of the big questions of the new Disney+ series Loki, which just premiered on the service today. If Loki’s not butting heads with Thor and his compatriots, who is he, really? And is he really everything he believes himself to be? Who would Loki rule for, other than himself?
It’s a question we posed to Loki himself, actor Tom Hiddleston, in a recent chat, and one that he had an appropriately encyclopedic answer for. As he explains in the video above:
As children, Odin told Thor and Loki “only one of you can ascend to the throne, but you were both born to be kings.” So there’s the sense that Loki has grown up with a sense of an entitlement to a birthright, and it gets distorted in The Avengers movie into this line he says to Nick Fury when he arrives: “I am burdened with glorious purpose.” I suppose it’s a motto. It’s a motivation. It’s a sense of self determination. And it’s a way that Loki gives meaning to his existence.