Tom Hiddleston’s 10 Best Movies And TV Shows

The best Tom Hiddleston movies and TV shows are often overshadowed by his most popular role, Loki, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hiddleston was born in London, England, and studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before getting his career start on television in small roles. He got his first film role after graduating college, appearing in Unrelated, and then he began accepting leading roles in several stage plays. However, his breakthrough came when the MCU signed him up to play Loki, the God of Mischief.

Tom Hiddleston starred in six MCU movies, had cameos in two others, and starred in two shows, including one with him as the main star. However, those are not the only great movies that Hiddleston has starred in over his career. He has starred in biopics and historical epics, he took on roles in dystopian dramas, fantasy monster movies, and even films by acclaimed film directors like Guillermo del Toro, Jim Jarmusch, Steven Spielberg, and Woody Allen, as well as taking on roles in critically acclaimed TV shows.

10

I Saw The Light (2015)

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I Saw the Light

R

Biography

Drama

Music

Release Date

March 25, 2016

Director

Marc Abraham

Writers

Marc Abraham

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In 2015, Tom Hiddleston got the lead role in the Hank Williams country music biopic I Saw the Light. Based on Hank Williams: The Biography, the film follows Williams’s rise to fame and his sudden death when he was only 29. It is also an MCU reunion, with Hiddleston as Williams and Elizabeth Olsen as his wife, Audrey Sheppard Williams (Hank Williams Jr’s mother). The reception for the movie was mostly negative, but critics did praise the cast who tried to lead an “unfocused” biopic.

However, the biggest complaints came from Hank Williams’s grandson, Hank Williams III. His biggest complaint was about Tom Hiddleston, as the singer lambasted Hiddleston’s singing talents. He claimed that having someone from London play his grandfather made the movie unbelievable since it was someone who had never experienced the life and foundation of someone from Williams’s background (via Fox News). However, Hank III’s half-sister praised Hiddleston’s performance (via Rolling Stone).

9

Wallander (2008-2010)

Magnus Martinsson

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Wallander (2008)

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Wallander

Release Date

2008/11/23 – 2015

Directors

Benjamin Caron, Philip Martin, Aisling Walsh

Writers

Richard Cottan, James Dormer, Peter Harness, Henning Mankell, Richard McBrien

Cast

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Wallander was the first chance that Tom Hiddleston got a chance to have a recurring role on television. Based on the Kurt Wallander book series by Henning Mankell, the series follows Kenneth Branagh’s Wallander, a police detective inspector in a small Swedish town, as he solves crimes while also questioning his own life along the way. Wallander has his own team that he leads, and the series lasted for four three-episode seasons and adapted the novels into feature-length episodes.

Hiddleston was part of the cast for the first two seasons as Magnus Martinsson, a member of Wallander’s team. Wallander is also the reason that Tom Hiddleston was cast as Loki in the MCU, as star Kenneth Branagh was the director of the first Thor movie and made the brilliant casting choice to bring his old co-star into the fold. This is also what pushed Hiddleston out of Wallander, as the third season aired in 2012, and by that time, Hiddleston had his hands full, with his role of Loki.

8

High-Rise (2015)

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High-Rise

Thriller

Documentary

Release Date

November 22, 2015

Runtime

112 minutes

Director

Ben Wheatley

Cast

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Tom Hiddleston had already become a star in the MCU when he was cast in the dystopian thriller High-Rise in 2015. This was a British thriller by director Ben Wheatley (Kill List) based on the novel by J.H. Ballard. Hiddleston plays Dr. Robert Laing, a man who lives in a high-rise tower block that has been ravaged. The film then goes back in time to show what happened to lead to this point, as the residents of the building descend into class divides, leading to violence and, eventually, murder and war within the building.

The movie did receive three BAFTA nominations, including one for Hiddleston for Best Actor…

Critics awarded the film an average score of 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, with complaints being that it doesn’t live up to the source material, but it still has great performances and thought-provoking social themes. The movie did receive three BAFTA nominations, including one for Hiddleston for Best Actor and supporting nominations for Sienna Miller and Luke Evans.

7

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

James Conrad

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Kong: Skull Island

PG-13

Adventure

Action

Fantasy

ScreenRant logo

7/10

7.6/10

Release Date

March 10, 2017

Runtime

2hours

Director

Jordan Vogt-Roberts

Writers

Max Borenstein, John Gatins, Derek Connolly, Dan Gilroy

Prequel(s)

King Kong, Godzilla vs. Kong

Cast

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Franchise(s)

King Kong

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Already a star in the MCU, Tom Hiddleston joined another major blockbuster franchise in 2017 with a role in Kong: Skull Island. However, this was only meant to be a one-and-done for the star, as Skull Island was set in the 1970s, so his character was from three decades before the events in the actual running franchise. Hiddleston stars as James Conrad, a former British Special Air Service Captain hired to map out Skull Island to prove the Hollow Earth Theory, only to end up facing off with the giant Kong.

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The movie hinted at more for Hiddleston’s Conrad, as the post-credit scene showed him learning about the other monsters (Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah), but he never returned. The movie was a success, making $568 million on a $185 million budget and a nice 75% positive rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects and Hiddleston was nominated at the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi.

6

Midnight In Paris (2011)

F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Midnight in Paris

pg-13

Romance

Fantasy

ScreenRant logo

8/10

6/10

Release Date

May 11, 2011

Runtime

94minutes

Director

Woody Allen

Writers

Woody Allen

Cast

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Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris was one of the director’s better late-career efforts, winning the Oscar and Golden Globes Awards for Best Screenplay. It was also a unique film, with Owen Wilson starring as the disillusioned screenwriter Gil Pender. In the story, Gil vacations in Paris with his fiancée, Inez, and her wealthy parents. However, he is unhappy and begins wandering the streets, exploring the history of Paris, especially concerning its Lost Generation. That is when he travels back in time.

He then meets some of the members of the Lost Generation, including F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), Zelda Fitzgerald (Alison Pill), Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), Salvador Dalí (Adrien Brody), Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), and several others. Critics praised Midnight in Paris, awarding it a 93% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, while it also received Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Director.

5

War Horse (2011)

Captain Nicholls

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War Horse

PG-13

War

Drama

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6/10

8/10

Release Date

December 25, 2011

Runtime

146minutes

Director

Steven Spielberg

Writers

Steven Spielberg

Cast

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While Tom Hiddleston became a star thanks to his role in the MCU, he had an even bigger role the same year he debuted there. In 2011, Hiddleston starred in two big movies – Thor and the Steven Spielberg war drama War Horse. The Spielberg movie was about the efforts in World War I where soldiers would commandeer farmer’s horses to use in battle, and one they took belonged to a family with a young boy who enlisted four years later. The story sees him eventually reunite with his beloved horse in battle.

Tom Hiddleston stars in the movie as Captain James Nicholls, the man who purchases the horse from the farmer and promises to care for it during the war. However, it isn’t long before Nicholls dies, and the horse gets passed around before the young man eventually finds his family’s prized horse. It was a much smaller role for Hiddleston but still an important one in the actor’s history. War Horse earned six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, but won none.

4

Crimson Peak (2015)

Thomas Sharpe

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Crimson Peak

R

Horror

Documentary

Fantasy

Mystery

Romance

Thriller

ScreenRant logo

5/10

6.8/10

Release Date

October 13, 2015

Runtime

119 minutes

Director

Guillermo del Toro

Writers

Matthew Robbins, Lucinda Coxon, Guillermo del Toro

Cast

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In 2015, Tom Hiddleston got a chance to star in one of director Guillermo del Toro’s most underrated films. In the film, Mia Wasikowska stars as American heiress Edith Cushing, the daughter of a wealthy businessman who meets and falls in love with a British man named Thomas Sharpe, played by Hiddleston. After her father rejects a business deal with Thomas, he ends up brutally murdered. Edith marries Thomas and moves to his estate with him, where his sister (Jessica Chastain) also lives.

Soon, ghostly specters start to haunt Edith in the large home (known as Crimson Peak), and she discovers dark secrets concerning Thomas and his sister. This dark Gothic romance plays into del Toro’s strengths and might be his most striking film based on its look alone. Critics gave the movie a 73% fresh rating, although it struggled to find an audience while in theaters. It received nine Saturn Award nominations, winning Best Horror Film.

3

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

Adam

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Only Lovers Left Alive

r

Romance

Horror

10/10

Release Date

December 25, 2013

Runtime

123minutes

Director

Jim Jarmusch

Writers

Jim Jarmusch

Cast

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In 2013, Tom Hiddleston signed on for an independent horror movie by visionary filmmaker Jim Jarmusch. This was a vampire movie, but it wasn’t like anything horror fans had seen. Hiddleston is a vampire named Adam, a famous musician who lives in Detroit. His wife of centuries is Eve, another vampire who lives in Tangier and mostly lives to protect her old friend and author Christopher Marlowe, who faked his death in 1593 and lives in hiding to this day. Adam and Eve remain married but live a world apart.

When Eve learns that Adam might be contemplating ending his own life, she sets out to find him and see if she can help him find a reason to go on living. Critics praised the film, awarding it an 86% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score. It received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Horror Film and was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. It has since become a cult favorite and is often listed among the best non-traditional vampire movies ever made.

2

The Night Manager (2016-)

Jonathan Pine

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The Night Manager

TV-MA

Drama

Thriller

10

9.7/10

Release Date

2016 – 2024

Network

BBC One

Directors

Susanne Bier

Writers

David Farr

Franchise(s)

Based on a novel by John le Carré

Cast

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    Hugh Laurie

Creator(s)

David Farr

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In 2016, Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie signed on to co-star in the John le Carré spy series The Night Manager for BBC One. The series, which was later shown on AMC in North America, has Hiddleston star as Jonathan Pine, a former British soldier and the current night manager at a luxury hotel in Cairo, who is recruited by a task force to infiltrate the inner circle of an illegal arms dealer named Richard Roper (Laurie). The season includes six episodes and received critical acclaim and high ratings.

A montage of John le Carre movies.

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The series received 12 Primetime Emmy nominations, winning two of them, while Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, and Olivia Coleman all received acting nominations without winning. However, all three actors won the Golden Globe Awards for their performances, and the show also received a nomination for Best Limited Series or Television Film. Hiddleston has signed on to return to a second season of the series, announced eight years after the first season concluded.

1

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Loki Laufeyson

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Thor: Ragnarok

PG-13

Action

Adventure

Science Fiction

ScreenRant logo

7/10

28

8.3/10

Release Date

November 3, 2017

Runtime

131 minutes

Director

Taika Waititi

Writers

Christopher L. Yost, Craig Kyle, Eric Pearson

Producers

Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Thomas M. Hammel, Victoria Alonso

Cast

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  • Chris Hemsworth Profile Picture

    Chris Hemsworth

    Thor

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    Mark Ruffalo

    Bruce Banner / Hulk

Prequel(s)

Thor: The Dark World

Sequel(s)

Thor: Love and Thunder

Franchise(s)

Marvel Cinematic Universe

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The most famous role of Tom Hiddleston’s career came when his old friend Kenneth Branagh cast him to play Loki in the first Thor movie. Hiddleston stole the film from star Chris Hemsworth and became the major villain in the first Avengers movie. However, it wasn’t until Loki became an anti-hero, agreeing to help his brother defend Asgard from Hela and Surtur in Thor: Ragnarok, that he hit the highest of highs as the God of Mischief. Hiddleston and Hemsworth’s chemistry made the movie one of the MCU’s best.

Movie / TV Show

Release Date

Notes

Thor

May 6, 2011

The Avengers

May 4, 2012

Thor: The Dark World

November 8, 2013

Avengers: Age of Ultron

May 1, 2015

Deleted Scene

Thor: Ragnarok

November 3, 2017

Avengers: Infinity War

April 27, 2018

Avengers: End Game

April 26, 2019

Ant-0Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

February 17, 2023

Post-Credit Scene

Loki

2021-2023

2 Seasons

What If… ?

2021-2024

6 Episodes, Voice Role (Animated)

It was likely Tom Hiddleston’s breakout performance in Thor: Ragnarok that allowed him to get his own starring opportunity in the Disney+ series Loki, which ended up having two seasons, both receiving critical and fan praise for the story, as Hiddleston continued to prove that Loki was one of the MVPs of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.