For decades, Tom Hiddleston thrilled audiences as Loki, the agile and unpredictable god of mischief in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Throughout his time as Loki, he’s performed elaborate stunt sequences alongside Chris Hemsworth’s Thor.
Turns out, dodging punches as Loki was the perfect warm-up for doing cha-cha, polka, and even bossa nova. And who knew those fighting choreographies would be a dance in disguise? Yes, Huddleston himself said in an interview that those stunts helped him prepare for one of the most challenging performances of his career, a joyful street dance in The Life of Chuck.
Tom Hiddleston credits Loki’s fight choreography for his dance skills in The Life of Chuck
In Mike Flanagan’s 2024 adaptation of Stephen King’s novella, Tom Hiddleston plays Charles Krantz, an ordinary man reflecting on his life as the world around him begins to fade. The movie, The Life of Chuck, features a scene where Hiddleston bursts into spontaneous dance alone in a public square, a powerful and joyful moment in the movie. That sequence didn’t come easily.
While he had never trained as a dancer, he approached the challenge with the same discipline he’d brought to years of complex stunt work. In a recent interview via Neonrated, Hiddleston playfully reflected on how his time as Loki, particularly the fight choreography, “more dance-like martial arts,” laid the groundwork for the demanding dance sequences in this movie. He cheekily stated,
I realized from doing stunt work in action films that I learn movement in slow motion. If I learn it slowly, when it speeds up, all the details are still there. Whereas if I learn it fast, I lose all the details.
Tom Hiddleston talks about how playing Loki prepared him for his role in ‘The Life Of Chuck’ 🕺
Now playing in theaters 🍿
(via @neonrated) pic.twitter.com/VcI9UmvEZ7
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) June 12, 2025
Sounds interesting. He also added that when he has a fight sequence with Thor, he would learn it really slowly, “parry, block, lunge.” He used that experience with Chuck’s choreography, and it really helped him.
For Hiddleston, the role marks a significant pivot, a chance to showcase his range far beyond the shadow of the MCU. “I’ve never danced like I danced in The Life of Chuck,” Hiddleston admitted. And that’s a fact.
Tom Hiddleston took 6 months to prepare for the dance sequence in The Life of Chuck
In an interview with Variety, Hiddleston expanded on how he prepared for the dance scenes. He revealed he had no formal training in any of the styles he had to perform. Over a six-week period, he trained in swing, jazz, samba, cha-cha, bossa nova, polka, and more. “All of these technical dances had to be learned by me without any training,” he said.
Some styles came more easily than others. He found swing and jazz enjoyable and rhythmical, while bossa nova challenged him with its subtle hip movements. “Bossa nova is a technical thing that took my hips a minute to get my head around,” he joked. Polka, by contrast, was downright athletic: “It feels like a 100-meter sprint. It’s like a gallop.”
Yet the dance scene in The Life of Chuck wasn’t about perfect technique; it was about emotional expressions, and it evolved spontaneously. Hiddleston said, “If the technique was not nailed by me, it was about expressing the joy.”
Premiering at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, The Life of Chuck won the People’s Choice Award. Now, it has officially hit theatres on June 13, 2025. The movie is a gentle, soulful exploration of life and showcases Hiddleston’s poignant range. It even proves that even Loki’s fight scenes were, in their own way, rehearsals for something more human. So, next time you see Loki dodging a hammer, just remember: he might’ve been practicing his next dance move.
The Life of Chuck is now in theaters in the USA.
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