Hollywood star Tom Hiddleston has said he finds it “reassuring” to think of the “deep past” and hopes he has “honoured” the people of Pompeii in his new documentary.
The actor, best known for starring as Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, has travelled back in time for a new National Geographic documentary drama that explores the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in ancient Rome.
The immersive three-part series, Pompeii: Out Of Time With Tom Hiddleston, transports audiences to ancient Rome as the actor, 45, examines the events before, during and after the catastrophic disaster that wiped out the ancient city of Pompeii.
Hiddleston appears as himself as the series presenter – a first for the Hollywood star and a choice that was driven by the 45-year-old’s love and passion for classics.
Speaking at the premiere, held at the British Museum, Hiddleston passionately told the Press Association: “Curiosity can take you to places which will change your life, and that’s what it did to me. I’ve always loved the classics. It was my degree at university.
“We need, somehow, to know who we were, to gain a better understanding of who we are.
“I find it very reassuring to think of the deep past, the ancient world. It’s a safe place to ask big questions, important questions, about who we are and where we’re going.”
The actor, also known for starring in The Night Manager, studied classics at the University of Cambridge and first visited Pompeii in 1998 when he was 17.
The series features both investigative storytelling and scripted drama, with Hiddleston appearing in cinematic sequences to recount the lives of real Romans caught in the disaster.
Hiddleston, who wore a pinstripe navy suit at the premiere in central London, hopes the documentary makes audiences “feel something” in learning about the lives of the people from the ancient city and that he has “honoured the lives” of the people of Pompeii.
He said: “They were ordinary people, like us, they were families, and fishermen, and business owners, and soldiers, and friends, and lovers, and mothers and sons, they weren’t people who expected their lives to be remembered, so I hope I’ve honoured their humanity and their courage.”
The documentary sees Hiddleston team up with historians, archaeologists, geologists and disaster experts to unpack the lives of a teenage apprentice, a businesswoman and a Praetorian guard in the countdown to Vesuvius’s eruption.
He said: “It feels like you can travel back in time, because the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the pyroclastic flow of pumice and volcanic ash and superheated rock, has preserved this ancient city of 20,000 people for all of time, which means you can walk through the past and feel the memories of our ancestors in the walls of those buildings.
“I found it magical when I went there when I was 17. I find it magical now.”
The actor reunited with Loki executive producer, Kevin R Wright, for the series, Pompeii: Out Of Time With Tom Hiddleston, which will be available to watch on Disney+ and on National Geographic from July 23.
