Tom Hiddleston tunes up for Hank Williams biopic with fest performance

Tom Hiddleston, the British actor best known for playing Loki in “Thor” and “The Avengers,” has traded his scepter for a guitar.

As Hiddleston prepares to start shooting the Hank Williams biopic “I Saw the Light,” he stopped by the Wheatland Music Festival in Michigan over the weekend to perform covers of the singer-songwriter’s tunes “Move It on Over” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.”

A festival goer’s video of the former song posted to YouTube (watch it at right) suggests that Hiddleston has worked up a pretty convincing drawl and can strum along just fine, although his voice is raspier than Williams’ distinctive nasal twang. (The best part of the video comes around the 1:09 mark, when a fan is heard to say, “That’s the guy who plays Loki in ‘The Avengers’!”)

While Hiddleston will indeed be doing his own singing in “I Saw the Light,” it’s worth remembering that musical biopics don’t necessarily live or die by the quality of their mimicry — more important is whether an actor can capture and convey the subject’s spirit in a way that’s cinematically compelling.

Born in Alabama in 1923, Williams is widely regarded as one of the most influential country music artists of the 20th century, having earned the moniker “King of the Hillbillies” with songs including “Lovesick Blues,” “Hey, Good Lookin’” and “Your Cheatin’ Heart.” He died tragically young at age 29, of a heart attack.

Marc Abraham is directing “I Saw the Light” from his own screenplay, which he adapted from Colin Escott’s book “Hank Williams: The Biography” (written with George Merritt and William MacEwen). Abraham is also producing with Aaron L. Gilbert, Brett Ratner and G. Marq Rosell.

Production is scheduled to begin next month in Louisiana.

Follow @ogettell for movie news