TIFF: Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

September 5-7, 2013: 

September 5: 

The cast of Only Lovers Left Alive attended the film's premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film made it's world premiere a few months earlier at the Cannes Film Festival. OLLA was directed by Jim Jarmusch and stars Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton as age-old vampire lovers. Mia Wasikowska and Anton Yelchin also star in the film. Sadly, Anton passed away in 2016. 

There was a Q&A after the premiere screening. Tom on his character Adam: We all contain multitudes, and this is just a moment in his life where I think his melancholy, his darkness, comes from an extraordinary optimism or capacity for the appreciation of real beauty. If there's any sadness in him, it's just the polar opposite of the other extreme of his emotion which is a capacity for joy. 

September 6: 

Tom posed for Jeff Vespa in the Guess Portrait Studio along with Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin, and director Jim Jarmusch. 

 

He bumped into Daniel Radcliffe at the portrait studio. 

Tom also sat down with Vanity Fair to discuss the film. 

 

An article written by Tom was published in Harper's Bazaar about the Terence Davies film Distant Voices, Still Lives as a part of the British Film Institutes 80th anniversary celebrations. Tom served as a luminary of the BFI and was eventually named their first ambassador in 2015. Terence Davies also directed The Deep Blue Sea. 

September 7: 

The next day Tom sat down for several press interviews. He talks about how the wigs in Only Lovers Left Alive were made out of human hair, yak hair, and goat hair because Jim Jarmusch wanted the vampires to have a "feral beauty".

There was a second Q&A with Jim, Tom, and Anton. 

Tom's final stop at TIFF was the Sony Pictures Classics Cast Dinner. Sony Pictures Classics has produced three of Tom's films: Midnight in Paris, Only Lovers Left Alive, and I Saw the Light. 

Fashion: 

Tom Hiddleston wore a Giorgio Armani Fall 2013 velvet lapel suit and patent leather shoes. This suit was also worn by Samuel L. Jackson. 

These are the greatest pair of shoes in the history of shoes. 

Tom wore another Armani three-piece suit (similar) and chelsea boots for the portrait session. 

Credits:

Zimbio
tom-hiddleston.com
tom-hiddleston.org

GQ Men of the Year Awards (2013)

September 3, 2013: 

Tom Hiddleston attended the 2013 GQ Men of the Year Awards held at the Royal Opera House in London. 

It may have been called the "Men of the Year" awards but Tom was on hand to present an award to the Woman of the Year, Emma Watson. "Shakespeare said that some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. This woman certainly from a very young age had greatness thrust upon her. She may indeed have been born great, but this year she has definitively achieved greatness." (wait for 2:08 when Tom adjusts the microphone stand for Emma)

In their backstage interview Tom and Emma were asked to pick their Man and Woman of the Year *spoiler alert, they picked each other! Tom also picks Andy Murray who had recently won Wimbledon* 

After the event Emma tweeted: @twhiddleston - you are the coolest. Thank you for tonight. X (originally Tom had posted @EmWatson - you rock. X but that tweet has since been deleted) 

Fashion: 

Tom Hiddleston wore a Giorgio Armani FW 2013 velvet tuxedo. 

Credits:

Zimbio
tom-hiddleston.org 


Also, be sure to check our Unicef UK fundraiser and raffle! 

#RADAHamlet (2017)

September 1-23, 2017: 

In August it was announced that Tom Hiddleston would return to his former school, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), to star in a charity production of Hamlet directed by Kenneth Branagh. Kenneth Branagh is the current president of RADA and frequent collaborator with Tom on projects such as Thor, Wallander, and Ivanov. This production of Hamlet raised money for the RADA Attenborough Campaign. About the production Tom said: “Hamlet presents almost limitless possibilities for interpretation. I can’t wait to explore them, with this great cast, at RADA. Kenneth Branagh and I have long talked about working on the play together, and now felt like the right time, at the right place. To be guided through it by him as a director, an expert and a friend, is our great good fortune. The performing arts exist to bring people together, not to break or keep them apart. I hope the funds raised by the production will help RADA continue to provide a wider field of equal opportunity to train actors, stage managers and technical theatre artists, from every background, to a standard of excellence and professionalism. We need to keep the doors open for everyone."

The acting company and creative team are made up from members of the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company and RADA. They are Ayesha Antoine (Rosencrantz / Bernarda), Lolita Chakrabarti (Queen Gertrude), Nicholas Farrell (King Claudius), Sean Foley (Polonius / Osric), Tom Hiddleston (Hamlet), Ansu Kabia (King Hamlet / Player King / Gravedigger), Caroline Martin (Horatia), Eleanor de Rohan (Guildastern / Marcella / Priest), Irfan Shamji (Laertes / Player Queen) and Kathryn Wilder (Ophelia). Hamlet will be designed by James Cotterill with lighting design by Paul Pyant (both RADA graduates) and sound design by Paul Arditti and Christopher Reid. Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann are casting directors for the production.

Tickets to RADA Hamlet were very limited, as the theatre only seats 160, and people had to enter thru a ballot system. Those who were lucky enough to attend had rave reviews for the play: 

What can be said of the play? Well, this production is passionate. It is thoroughly revealing to the point of feeling revealed, being split open and giving us the ability to relate to the emotions vigorously laid out before us. I felt as though each character was a friend, including me in their thoughts. Each performer gave every ounce, every last drop of themselves that helped the audience believe we too were involved. The presentation of Ophelia by Kathryn Wilder was nothing short of sublime, most especially throughout the scenes following her father’s death. Nicholas Farrell – a convincing King Claudius. All the company were near flawless. Which leads me on to Tom Hiddleston and his wholehearted portrayal of Hamlet himself. The gift he has been given to act is on full display here. He zips open Hamlet, steps inside to be consumed by the character. He is Hamlet in those three short hours showing us a torrential outpouring of emotion, switching fluently between despairing grief to pockets of clarity, moments of sheer madness to sober judgement of the broken families around him. The raw nakedness of his performance on stage, or rather, in the round, at eye level pulling you in as though Hamlet is confiding in you to hear the deepest depths of his soul. He was born to play Hamlet. He was born to act Shakespeare. It feels that Hiddleston is taking advice from Polonius in his performance; “…this above all: to thine ownself be true”. - Nauticulture

Production photos, taken by Johan Persson, were released by The Telegraph. 

There were some additional photographs inside the Hamlet programme. 

Fashion: 

The Modern Dress wardrobe for #RADAHamlet was supplied by Selfridges but Tom did also mix in some items from his personal wardrobe for the performances.

• PS by Paul Smith Double-Breasted Wool Blend Peacoat, $430. NEW
• All Saints Sanderson Leather Bomber Jacket, $415. NEW
• Reiss Porto Funnel Collar Coat, sold out 

• Burberry Crew Neck Merino Wool Sweater, sold out.
• Gucci Slim Fit Knit Sweater, sold out.

• Jbrand Tyler Jeans, sold out
• Calvin Klein Slim Fit jeans, $93. NEW 

• Kurt Geiger London Frederick Suede Chelsea Boots, $151. NEW

Tom is also wearing a hoodie in the production photos but there's not enough detail for me to confirm it. 


If you missed RADA Hamlet - we have a signed programme available to win through our fundraiser/ raffle for Unicef UK!