Nikki Finke is reporting that Tom Hiddleston has been cast as Loki in Marvel’s live action Thor film, which led to a resounding ‘who?’ from the internet. But just because we haven’t heard of the guy (and these days I’m thinking the only people who the internet think have name recognition are people who have already been in genre projects) doesn’t mean he’s a nobody. For one thing he won the Best Newcomer award at the Oliviers, the most prestigious award in British theater, and named, of course, after Laurence Olivier.

But you’ve probably never seen him so much as speak, which is what makes this video I found on YouTube so interesting. It’s Hiddleston talking about compassion as it relates to acting, and it shows a damn smart guy who puts a lot of thought into his work. Yeah, he won’t put asses in seats, but once folks are in the theater they might just be blown away by this guy’s work. I can’t wait to see what he’s like as an evil Norse god.