King Kong is tearing up the silver screens again, and this time, he's facing off against English actor Tom Hiddleston, who plays a 70s era soldier named Conrad. Conrad has been sent to the mysterious Skull Island on an expedition, only to find more than he bargained for.
"Conrad feels like a unique kind of hero- someone with a bit of intellectual passion who becomes an adventurer," says Hiddleston. "He's a former SAS officer, an expert at jungle warfare." Playing a role like that requires more than a few trips to the gym, and according to Hiddleston, it wasn't a walk in the park. "I wanted to try and approximate that level of fitness and train to be able to survive in the harshest circumstances. Now, I'm an actor, and I've never come close to the intensity of conditions and training experienced by SAS operatives, but I wanted to do as much as I could to understand it."
Even though he's already played an Avengers villain and most recently a spy in The Night Manager, the role of Conrad may be the first time Hiddleston fans will get to see him in a true action hero role. "I've always wanted to play a heroic protagonist," he says. " The action aspect of it was definitely a thrilling prospect for me."
Read the full interview in the current edition of Hot Press, Joshua Tree, 30 Years On.
Kong: Skull Island is in cinemas March 10. Watch the trailer below.
You can Buy Hot Press 41-04 : U2 - The Joshua Tree - 30th Anniversary special direct from hotpress.com

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