Tom Hiddleston to Play Country Music Icon Hank Williams in New Film

Tom Hiddleston at TCAs 2013 (Photo: PBS/Raoul Ghose)
Tom Hiddleston at TCAs 2013 (Photo: PBS/Raoul Ghose)
This is not a joke: Avengers star and general internet heartthrob Tom Hiddleston has officially signed on to play iconic American country music star Hank Williams.

Yup. Straight out of the “Never Saw That Coming” casting files – and per Deadline Hollywood – it’s true. Hiddleston – one of the Britishiest British actors around these days – will not only be doing an Alabama accent, he’ll be singing too, including such Williams classics as “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and “Hey, Good Lookin’.” (Here’s a snippet of Hiddleston singing, if you’re wondering if he’s got a voice or not.)

Entitled I Saw the Light, the film will tell the story of Williams’ meteoric rise to fame during his early teens, his subsequent battles with alcohol and prescription drug abuse, and his shocking death at the age of just 29. (The story of how Hank Williams died is probably enough to power a movie on its own, honestly.)

Hiddleston himself has seen a rapid rise to fame over the past few years, thanks to his star-making turn as Loki in Marvel’s Thor films and his generally hilarious and gracious interactions with the world at large. He’s also played such diverse roles as a vampire rocker in Only Lovers Left Alive, Shakespeare’s King Henry V in The Hollow Crown and F. Scott Fitzgerald in Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, and has recently finished filming period horror flick Crimson Peak for Guillermo del Toro.

Production will begin in Louisiana this October and the film will be directed by Marc Abraham, whose previous credits include the Greg Kinnear-starrer Flash of Genius. No word on when we might expect a release date, but it seems likely the internet will be watching this particular production with avid interest.

What do you think about the prospect of Hiddleston playing such an American icon?  


Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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