From classics to movies
He can recite Shakespeare’s Hamlet from memory. His favorite ancient myth is The Odyssey. Tom Hiddleston, 32, could have been a popular professor teaching English Literature at (21) __________ university, but the well-educated British man chose to do something that he loves even more: acting.
He’s well-known around the world as the villain Loki from the Hollywood films Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012) and now Thor: The Dark World, which will come out in China on Nov 8. Hiddleston’s role as Thor’s evil brother has led his fans — “Hiddlestoners” — (22) __________ (refer) to him as “the most charming villain” in cinema.
(23) __________ his charm, Hiddleston had a tough time (24) __________ (persuade) his scientist father that acting was a worthwhile job. As a student at Eton, a private school for upper-class kids in England, Hiddleston performed in a lot of school plays. At 18, he appeared on stage at the Edinburgh International Festival. “It was the first time that people I knew and loved and respected came up to me after the show and said: ‘You could really do this (25) __________ you wanted to’,” Hiddleston told the Daily Mail.
He said that as a teenager he didn’t have much self-esteem, but acting gave him confidence. “It was when they started saying I could do it (26) __________ I really committed to it as a possibility,” he continued. However, his father did not approve, believing his polite and bright son should be using his brains for (27) __________ else. “You’ve been educated, so why do you want to spend your life pretending to be someone else when you could be your own man?” the father told the son.
So, instead of going to drama school, Hiddleston went to Cambridge, (28) __________ he studied classics. There, he continued to appear in student plays and even landed some roles on TV and in local theaters. He managed to balance his acting and his studies so well that he (29) __________ (graduate) with a first-class degree.
But Hiddleston’s international breakthrough came when he auditioned for the 2011 film Thor. He was desperate to play the title superhero, but the director decided that he was (30) __________ (suitable) for the part of the villain, Loki.
In the end, his dark and powerful performance won over his father. It also earned him some important fans in the film industry: Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen. The two world-famous directors asked him to star in their award-winning films War Horse (2011) and Midnight in Paris (2011), respectively.
21. a 22. to refer 23. Despite 24. persuading 25. if
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