Thor: The Dark World landed in theaters this weekend, delivering solid Box Office numbers and some positive buzz from those of us who left the theater satisfied. In addition to a story that worked and some great action, there was also that amazing little cameo. It’s at this point that I’m going to state loudly: SPOILER WARNING, if you haven’t seen Thor: The Dark World yet, and you haven’t heard about the cameo — and I’m not referring to Stan Lee’s expected drop-in — read no further. It’s better to be surprised on this one!
SPOILERS beyond this point!
The cameo I’m referring to is that glorious little moment when Captain America dropped in. Well, it wasn’t really Captain America. Loki’s gift with illusion allows him to present himself however he wants, and during the scene where he and Thor were on their way out of Asgard, Loki had a little fun with this ability, at one point presenting himself as Captain America. Enter Chris Evans, doing an impersonation of Loki doing an impersonation of Captain America, striding purposefully, he says, "Oh, this is much better! The costume’s a bit much. So tight!" He goes on about how he can "feel the righteousness surging," and then offers his brother the opportunity to have a righteous discussion about truth, honor and patriotism." Because, you know, that’s the kind of thing Captain America would be into, right?
MTV spoke with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston about the cameo and they shared some interesting behind-the-scenes details about how that scene was shot.
As Hiddleston puts it, "I did an impression of Loki in the Captain America costume, and did the whole performance, and then they showed Chris [Evans] my performance on tape. It’s him doing an impression of me doing an impression of him, and it’s brilliant. Brilliant. I think it’s great."
Brilliant is a great word for it. And the fact that they did it that way explains how there’s so much Loki in Evans’ performance. It’s enough to make us want to see Loki impersonate all of the other Avengers. As heroic as they all are, it's all a matter of perspective, and from Loki's vantage point, those quirky little personality traits might be well worth poking fun at. How great would it be to watch Loki show off the smarmier side of Tony Stark, or mock the Hulk’s rage — let’s face it, Loki has good reason to despise the Hulk…
("Puny God")
And how would he present Hawkeye or Black Widow? They're both such serious characters, which I think would play really well exaggerated. I’d also love to see a Nick Fury impression, if only to see how Samuel L. Jackson takes on his own character through Loki’s eyes.
Impressions are something Tom Hiddleston’s actually pretty great at. Whether it’s Alan Rickman, Owen Wilson or a velociraptor, he’s got it covered. Check out this compilation of impressions he's done during interviews.
The swear-filled Chris Evans impression is my favorite in that one.
Want more? This next video includes evidence that HIddleston is very familiar with Will Smith’s "Miami," as well as more Chris Evans, some Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johannson, and at one point, a little kid with an American accent…
Speaking Greek, Russian and French. I don’t think I’ve le-sigh’ed like that since I watched that Bradley Cooper interview where he speaks French.
Going back to Loki, he’s certainly a scene-stealer, thanks in large part to Hiddleston’s brilliant performance. Beyond the Cap impression, that moment when we see Loki’s reaction to Frigga’s death was one of the best in the film, I thought. Just one burst of rage to betray Loki’s otherwise usual cool demeanor. Loki is arguably the best villain among Marvel’s recent films. You’d think that’s a good thing but read Katey’s argument on why it isn’t here.
