Posts tagged toby kebbell

Tom Hiddleston plays Captain Nicholls in Steven Speilberg’s epic adventure ‘War Horse.’ The film is a tale of loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War. ‘War Horse’ begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets—British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter—before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land. ‘War Horse’ is one of the great stories of friendship and war—a successful book, it was turned into a hugely successful international theatrical hit that is currently on Broadway.

Tom Hiddleston has appeared in the following films during the last twelve months: ‘Archipelago’ (dir. Joanna Hogg), as Loki in Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Thor,’ as F. Scott Fitzgerald in Woody Allen’s ‘Midnight in Paris’ and most recently as Freddie Page in Terence Davies’ ‘The Deep Blue Sea.’ In 2012 Hiddleston will reprise his role as Loki, the primary villain in ‘Marvel’s The Avengers.’ He is currently filming an adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Henry V’ for television (BBC/NBC), playing the title role of King Henry V. ‘War Horse’ is released in cinemas January 13th.

How familiar were you with the play and the book before you started filming and how important was it for you to be?

Tom Hiddleston: It was hugely important for me to be familiar with the material. The first time I heard about the play ‘War Horse’ was from two very good friends who both work in the theatre but aren’t actors. They told me about it and that, like everybody else, they’d come out of the National on a wintry evening in floods of tears. So, needless to say, it always intrigued me. At the time, I was in a production that was touring around the world so I missed the play at the National and I missed it at the West End. The play always felt like this elusive creature that I never quite got to come to grips with.

I finally got to see the play at the New London Theatre. It was extraordinary. It was breathtaking. The single thing that obviously leapt out at me was the puppets. There’s a collective gasp when the foal totters onto its legs and takes its first steps. It’s the magic of theatre to make it seem as if a living animal is really there. I thought the play was extraordinarily powerful and very, very moving.

Since I love anything to do with the First World War the play really resonated with me. World War I has always spoken to me and captured my imagination. I think there’s something incredibly tragic but poetic about it. It always seems to me like the world lost its innocence in the First World War, certainly in Europe anyway. There’s something so unexpected about how horrific it was.

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