With Crimson Peak currently in theaters, it's impossible to escape the talk of the Tom Hiddleston nude scene. In the new Gothic romance from director Guillermo del Toro, Hiddleston stars as Thomas Sharpe, a mysterious British man who sweeps a young, American writer off her feet, marries her and takes her away to his sinister, haunted mansion in England. But enough about plot, let's focus on the nudity! The Crimson Peak sex scene has been widely talked about for featuring Tom Hiddleston's naked backside, and the headlines it's grabbing shouldn't come as a surprise to any Hiddlestoners out there. Still, given the popularity of the story, you'd think Crimson Peak was Hiddleston's first time being naked on camera. In fact, it's not — Hiddleston has been naked in multiple films, and Crimson Peak is just the most recent.
Best known for playing the villain Loki in Marvel movies, Hiddleston has been acting professionally since the early 2000s, making a career for himself on British television and on the stage. It wasn't until 2011 that he truly became a household name, though, with starring roles in Thor and Midnight in Paris. That same year, Hiddleston had his first nude scene in the little-seen film The Deep Sea, co-starring Rachel Weisz. He opened up about filming the scene in an interview with Collider, saying,
"It was strange, it was the last scene I shot in the film, and it was actually Christmas Eve. ...And, Rachel and I knew each other very well already at this point. And we'd been very naked in other ways with each other. We'd been crying and shouting and being intimate and kissing. And so really, this was — we already trusted each other. There was a huge mutual trust and respect — but I didn't eat any mince pies until Christmas Day, let's put it that way."
Watch the NSFW clip below:
As Hiddleston's fame has grown, so, it seems, has his willingness to appear naked in films. After the success of Thor and The Avengers, Hiddleston starred in Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), where he appeared nude alongside co-star Tilda Swinton. However, it wasn't until 2015 that the actor made a real habit of being naked on-screen. Hiddleston currently has three films currently out or coming up — Crimson Peak, High-Rise, and I Saw the Light — each of which features some degree of nudity on Hiddleston's part. Audiences delighting in the star's body should note, though, that he isn't just doing nudity for the sake of nudity, and will only appear naked if it serves the story. That's not to say that he is reluctant to participate in nude scenes. In fact, the nudity in Crimson Peak was Hiddleston's idea. As he recently told Vulture,
"If it's justified in the storytelling, I absolutely have no problem with it [nudity]. That's sort of my condition, if I can see where it fits into the story. In fact, in Crimson Peak, I really pitched for that scene because it's about the twin energies of sexuality and violence, these polar opposites. ...The proximity of death and our fear of it, but also the fact that we're impelled by our sexuality towards things and towards choices and people is actually what Gothic romance is about. Guillermo and Mia [Wasikowska] and myself all agreed that that sex scene had to be quite powerfully realized."
Hiddlestoners who have already seen Crimson Peak and are hoping to get another gander at the actor in his birthday suit might have to wait a little while. High-Rise has yet to be picked up for American distribution, and is currently only planned on being released in Europe, and I Saw the Light is set for a March 2016 release. Don't get too sad, though — there are plenty of movies already out featuring a naked Hiddleston for your viewing delight.
