No matter how bad Loki is, we'll still love him. He doesn't even need to put us under any spells. We'd be horrible Avengers because we'd just let our Asgardian prince do whatever he wanted.
Part of the appeal with Loki is the actor who plays him. The MCU would have never have gotten the perfect actor to play the God of Mischief if it wasn't for Kenneth Branagh, who discovered the struggling actor Tom Hiddleston during his days at the playhouse in his early career. Branagh made the biggest decision in the history of the MCU when he cast Hiddleston and his brother from another mother, Chris Hemsworth.
Hiddleston has starred as Loki in six Marvel films and has his own series coming to Disney+ soon. We know there will be all sorts of shenanigans and that Hiddleston will continue to give us some priceless moments as the Frost Giant-turned Asgardian prince.
But surely Hiddleston must have been paid handsomely since Loki is so important to the franchise and the fans. Hiddleston made his $25 million net worth somehow, right? Don't be surprised when you see the numbers. They're nowhere near his brother Thor's, who not only gets to sit on the Asgardian throne but also gets to be the highest-paid actor in the MCU.
Couldn't Loki conjure up some more funds to give this truly deserving actor more tribute?
His Starting Salary Was Unsurprisingly Low
In Marvel, it's sort of a right of passage to receive a relatively low starting salary. Robert Downey Jr. was only paid $500,000 for the first Iron Man in 2008. But his salary steadily increased throughout the years, eventually hitting well over the $50 million mark by the time he left the franchise. The same can be said for Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, and the rest of the Avengers.
So it's no surprise that Hiddleston received a salary of less than a million for his first outing as Loki in Thor. According to Men's Health, Hiddleston walked away with only $160,000 for starring in Thor. While this might seem like a lot of money to some people, it's not by any means huge considering the salaries of some of Hiddleston's co-stars who were making well over a million.
He received a raise when he became the villain in The Avengers, raking in $800,000, but even this wasn't a lot considering Loki's role in the film.
Hiddleston starred as Loki in Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok, but we'd don't know how much he was paid. We want to believe that by this point, for Thor's two sequels, he would have received two more raises for each, equally way past the million mark, but we're just not sure.
By the time Avengers: Infinity War came, he was making $8 million. Again this is low compared to other cast member's salaries, but it is still impressive considering Hiddleston only played Loki for a couple of minutes. For Avengers: Endgame, his salary is unknown, but judging by how much he made for Infinity War, with very little screen time, we can guess Marvel paid Hiddleston close to $8 million or above as well. The God of Mischief had even less screen time in that film, so again, it would be impressive if he was paid that much.
Now that Hiddleston has his very own Loki series on Disney+, where he will no doubt shine outside the shadow of his Asgardian brother, we can also assume that Hiddleston has been compensated handsomely. Loki has been a fan favorite since Thor, and that fanbase has only grown, so surely Hiddleston would have felt the effects of that reflected in his salary for the new show.
Loki Is A Part Of Hiddleston's Subconscious Now
Hiddleston didn't know how he would feel jumping back into Loki's shoes for Thor: Ragnorak. Still, during the camera test, the character came rushing back to the surface without much prodding from Hiddleston himself.
"I wasn’t sure how I was gonna feel until I arrived," Hiddleston said about getting to set at first. "There was a new costume design as there always is… And when [I] put on the [costume] and the wig and did a camera test, I just opened my mouth, and the voice was there. Somehow he’s been part of my subconscious for so long."
After playing the character for a decade now, jumping back into the character once more won't be hard for him anymore. Hiddleston recently told Entertainment Weekly that he feels a certain amount of responsibility towards Loki.
"Rather than ownership, it's a sense of responsibility I feel to give my best every time and do the best I can because I feel so grateful to be a part of what Marvel Studios has created. I just want to make sure I've honored that responsibility with the best that I can give and the most care and thought and energy," Hiddleston said.
Hiddleston said the Loki in the new series won't be the redeemed anti-hero we last saw in Infinity War. We'll be seeing a different Loki from a "branched timeline" where he's just been defeated by the Avengers after his plot against New York.
"He's still the charming yet petulant god who firmly believes he's destined to rule and has never gotten his due," Hiddleston said. Which means we will be getting an even sassier Loki. We're okay with that. We just wish Marvel paid Hiddleston a little more for being one of their MVPs. It makes us so mad we're as angry as Surtur.