The Surprising Character Tom Hiddleston Originally Auditioned For In The MCU

At this point, there's no question that Tom Hiddleston's Loki is one of the most iconic and beloved characters in the entire MCU — despite the fact that he first entered the franchise as one of its most detestable villains. Though we first met Loki as the antagonist in 2011's "Thor," it was his role in 2012's "The Avengers" that catapulted him into the spotlight, as his brutal invasion forced Earth's mightiest heroes to put aside their differences and join forces. Although he ended up losing at the end of that film, Loki became so incredibly popular following the release of "The Avengers" that Marvel decided to make him a recurring character in the MCU.

Sinc​​e then, he has returned in a variety of different​​ MCU projects, eventually meeting a tragic demise in "Aveng​​ers: Infinity War" before being somewhat resurrected for the Disney+ series "Loki." It's incredible to consider that Tom Hiddleston​​ has been playing the same character for over a decade and still manages to steal the spotlight nearly every time he's on ​​screen. That said, it may surprise some fans to learn that Hiddleston's original audition for "Thor" was for a different character entirely: one who is about as different from Loki as you could imagine.

During a 2014 interview with The Huffington Post, Hiddleston revealed that he actually never auditioned for the part of Loki, but instead had originally auditioned to play Thor himself. "When I auditioned for Thor, I didn't know about the existence of Loki," Hiddleston explained. "Kevin [Feige] and Kenneth [Branagh] called me personally and said, 'Well, you're not going to play Thor but we would like you to play Loki.'"

Hiddleston went on to clarify that he has absolutely no regrets about the casting choice, as well as how he believes missing out on the part of Thor was ultimately a blessing in disguise. "I've never once thought, 'I wish I were playing Thor,'" he said. Indeed, Loki remains to this day one of the most prominent members of the MCU, still playing a key role in the larger Marvel universe even after series staples like Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) have exited the franchise. We can be thankful that Kenneth Branagh saw what Hiddleston could bring to the table as Loki, though it is fun to imagine what the MCU might look like if Hiddleston had played Asgard's God of Thunder.