Tom Hiddleston has revealed that a classic DC villain played a major role in inspiring his Marvel journey. The actor, who has portrayed Loki across several Marvel films and TV projects for more than 15 years, shared that Tim Burton’s Batman left such a strong impression on him that it directly influenced the way he approached the role.
“Truthfully, I don’t think I would’ve played Loki without that film,” Hiddleston said during a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. He explained that watching Jack Nicholson’s Joker when he was younger sparked his imagination and helped him understand how a villain could be dangerous, magnetic, and entertaining at the same time.
“I understood he was the villain, but he was having such a good time — that could describe somebody else I know — and he was so charismatic and so inventive and so free,” Hiddleston said, hinting at the similarities he later found in Loki’s personality.
The Joker’s Influence on Loki’s Early MCU Days
Hiddleston admitted that Nicholson’s performance stayed with him for years, and he carried that inspiration into his first appearance as Loki in Thor (2011). He shared that when he stepped onto set, he kept Nicholson’s energy in mind while building Loki’s mix of charm, danger, and unpredictability.
“I think, probably, when I came to play Loki for the first film, I consciously carried Jack Nicholson in mind,” he said.
This isn’t the first time Hiddleston has spoken about Nicholson’s impact. In a 2013 interview with Entertainment Weekly, he credited several legendary movie villains as key influences while developing Loki’s complicated personality.
“I’m standing on the shoulders of the villains I loved as a child and take my hat off to,” Hiddleston said at the time. “Jack Nicholson as The Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman, and I bow even lower for Alan Rickman in Die Hard and James Mason in North by Northwest.”
He also pointed out that villains who genuinely enjoy themselves often leave the strongest mark on audiences.
“I guess it’s in my make up as a fan, as someone who loved movies as a child. I loved villains who enjoyed themselves,” he added.
On-Set Experiments with Kenneth Branagh
During the podcast, Hiddleston also shared a fun behind-the-scenes detail from filming the first Thor movie. He explained that director Kenneth Branagh encouraged experimentation, and the two would sometimes film multiple versions of Loki’s scenes with different acting “flavors” in mind.
“We did the Peter O’Toole take, which wasn’t an impersonation of Peter O’Toole but it was a tribute to his sincerity and vulnerability in films like The Lion in Winter,” Hiddleston said.
He also described trying out a Nicholson-inspired version, where Loki was the most playful and entertaining person in the room.
“And then a Jack Nicholson take, where I was having the most fun in the room,” he said.
To round it out, he even did a Clint Eastwood-inspired version, where the emotion stayed hidden beneath the surface.
“And then a Clint Eastwood take, where whatever I was feeling would be hidden deep within me and you wouldn’t be able to see it,” he explained.
According to Hiddleston, this creative approach gave Branagh more flexibility during editing and helped capture Loki’s layered personality in a way that felt unpredictable and real.
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What’s Next for Loki in 2026
Hiddleston is set to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Doomsday. Loki was last seen at the end of Loki season 2, where he became the God of Time and took on the responsibility of holding the entire multiverse together.
With Loki’s story now tied directly to the future of the MCU, fans are watching closely to see how his next chapter unfolds—and how those early inspirations continue to shape one of Marvel’s most unforgettable characters.
Conclusion
Tom Hiddleston’s Loki has become one of the MCU’s most iconic roles, and his latest comments show that the character’s charm and edge were partly shaped by Jack Nicholson’s legendary Joker. With Avengers: Doomsday on the horizon, Loki’s influence on the multiverse—and the franchise—looks bigger than ever.
