It's time to expand that display shelf because Tom Hiddleston won Best Actor at the Evening Standard Theater Awards. I knew he deserved the honor because his work in the play Coriolanus was outstanding. But even better than him winning was hearing how proud he was of his performance. Hiddleston's an enormously humble person, but you could tell the victory meant a lot to him. It was acknowledging for the first time that he's more than his fandom and Loki, but that he has real talent.
Hiddleston's press interview right after he won highlighted this feeling as he couldn't stop smiling. "It doesn't feel real yet," he said holding the trophy backstage. "I'm so proud of the show." There's no doubt that the others nominated for the award were talented too, but Hiddleston really threw himself at the role. For those of us who may not understand the level of hard work that went into the production, Hiddleston summed it up for the Theater Awards' reporter.
It was a real team effort. We performed it all the way through Christmas and through New Year's. We did eight shows a week, and there were no understudies. We sweated blood and tears. By the end I actually had to go to [the] hospital, I had a cut on my forehead and four stitches. It was one of those ones where you just put everything on the line and I've still got the scars to prove it.
I know Hiddleston deserved to win, and I'm glad he knows, too. You can still be humble and also recognize that you're finally being honored for your hard work. It's so cute to watch him get all excited about his award, so check out the video below. Hiddleston comes in at about four minutes, and his smile alone is worth the watch. You can practically feel his happiness.
