One of this fall’s more anticipated films is the Hank Williams biopic, I Saw the Light. The legendary country singer will be played by Tom Hiddleston, best known to the world as Thor’s devious brother Loki in the Thor and Avengers movies.
Playing a real-life figure can be daunting, especially when it comes to musicians and actually performing the material. Of course, an actor can lip-sync (or sing underneath the actual recordings, as Chadwick Boseman did as James Brown in Get On Up). But a portrayal seems far more authentic and surely more real for the actor by actually singing.
Hiddleston and director Marc Abraham (Flash of Genius) seem to agree, as the star is singing Williams’ famous songs on his own in the film. He posted a clip on Twitter in anticipation of I Saw the Light‘s premiere at the Toronto Film Festival this weekend (Sept. 11).
It gives me great pleasure to introduce the first clip from I SAW THE LIGHT. @TIFF_NET tomorrow! #MoveItOnOver https://t.co/0xC30AghNF
— Tom Hiddleston (@twhiddleston) September 10, 2015
An issue for some fans and viewers might be that Hiddleston doesn’t quite sound like Williams. Devin Faraci noted this in a post at BIRTH.MOVIES.DEATH, and I felt much the same way when video of Hiddleston performing on stage was recorded a year ago from the Wheatland Music Festival in Michigan. (That video has since been taken down, unfortunately.)
To me, Hiddleston needs more twang singing Williams’ songs. But it’s probably close enough, with a hint of twang there. I’m a Johnny Cash fan and while Joaquin Phoenix didn’t sound exactly like him in Walk the Line, he approximated Cash’s voice and style pretty well. I imagine we’ll say the same thing about Hiddleston. The clip is likely from a scene of an early recording in Williams’ career (“Move It On Over” was his first hit single), so maybe he’ll get more twangy as the movie progresses and Williams establishes his distinct sound.
Hiddleston will almost certainly have plenty more else to handle in his portrayal, as Williams dealt with severe back pain (the result of a childhood affliction), alcoholism and prescription drug abuse during his very short life. (He died at the age of 29 from heart failure in 1953.) But sounding like Williams would certainly go a long way toward convincing audiences that he’s become that character on screen.
I Saw the Light is scheduled for a Nov. 27 theatrical release.
