Lord Dragonfly has another new interview this week, this time with The Guardian. It’s a curious piece, because Tom talks directly about my biggest complaint about him: he is too earnest, too uncool, too cheeseball. Tom openly acknowledges that part of his personality, which… I guess I’ll give him credit for that. Apparently, he brought the Guardian journalist to his favorite pub, a “posh pub in north London,” and he and the journalist sat outside in the pub’s garden. The Guardian references pieces of the conversation without providing quotes, like apparently Tom loves Roger Federer, the Rolling Stones, a certain kind of beer, his costars and “the idea of having kids.” Sorry, Guardian, but I need the quote/receipts on Tom wanting kids! You can read the full piece here and here are some highlights:
He knows he’s not cool: “There’s just something very uncool about emotion. Is that right? Perhaps that’s not quite right … Passion is frequently uncool. And I’ve never been dispassionate for as long as I can remember. I’m so easily mocked. But that’s the reason I’m sitting in front of you.”
Whether life is beautiful or brutal: “You come into contact with both. You just have to respond the best way you can. Sometimes the brutality is humbling, and sometimes the beauty is surprising. It’s impossible to go through life without experiencing its random cruelty. But then, every day, there are so many things that are delightful. I’m not closed to any of it.”
A rigorous belief system: “I think people should be rigorous about what they believe in. The way I was taught was it’s just untenable to have an opinion you can’t back up. I think it’s very easy to adhere quite loosely to generalised opinions these days. I would never be so bold as to make a big public statement without making sure I fully believed in it.”
Equal pay for women in film: “It should be signed, sealed, delivered.”
Who he voted for in Britain’s last general election: “I won’t tell you that… I’m not in the business of being politically divisive. I don’t want to set a precedent. It’s a private matter”.
What he believes in: “I believe in kindness. I believe very profoundly in that. I believe in bravery and courage, in being true to your word … Very unfashionable. I have tried with all of my power for there not to be any inauthenticity. There is no version of me presented to you that’s been created or is artificial. The people I’ve always respected have an integrity that is unassailable.”
His obsessed fandom: “[It’s] an odd experience. But I won’t be the first person to have thought that. I’m only in control of my own integrity. I’m accountable for everything I’ve done and I understand that. Everything else is out of my control”.
His new year’s resolutions. The ones he hasn’t kept: “No smoking” (“I did a bit when I played Hank. A stupid idea”); “Buy some new clothes” (I’ve seen his jacket on this press tour a fair bit); “Be on time for everyone” (he apologises again for his lateness). The ones he has: “Bleed less” (“I mean that literally. I have a habit of getting hurt. I got a big gash on my head when I was doing Coriolanus”); “Be careful of social media. It’s undermining and confusing.” And this one: “You’ve made a habit of playing so much outside your comfort zone it’s become comfortable. Your comfort zone’s what you’re frightened of.”
Do you think he voted for the Tories? Damn, bruh. I actually don’t think Tom is a Tory. He was probably raised in a Tory-friendly household but it just seems like his personal politics are probably a shade more socialist. Also: why is it so funny to me that one of his New Year’s resolutions was to “bleed less”? He’s like a rom-com heroine, a klutz who is always falling down and bashing their heads. He’s earnest and yearning and publicly apolitical and he wants babies (???). God, he totally IS a rom-com heroine. Tommy Hiddles’ Diary. Hiddles, Actually. You’ve Got Hiddles.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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