Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, TV | Tagged: disney, Kate Herron, loki, Marvel Studios, sophia di martino, sylvie, tom hiddleston

Loki: Sophia Di Martino on Sylvie, LGBTQ Moment & Hiddleston Chemistry

It's no secret how Sophia Di Martino's Sylvie has become such a refreshing wildcard on the Disney+ series Loki. As the "variant", the Time Variance Authority with the aid of Tom Hiddleston's Loki was largely on her trial until they got separated and the two found themselves together on a literal journey of self-discovery. Di Martino spoke to Variety and Deadline Hollywood about how she fell into the role, her chemistry with Hiddleston, and the LGBTQ watershed moment for Marvel.

"It was the shortest casting experience I think I've ever had," Di Martino told Variety admitting she was cast in September 2019 and finally allowed to talk about it. "I did an audition tape with a very short scene. I wasn't asked to do it again, and I couldn't meet anyone because I was heavily pregnant at the time and I couldn't travel. Tom was in the U.S., everyone else was in the U.S. So we didn't get to screen test or anything. So I just got the job on the back of this tape, which never happens, and especially with a job like this! It was extremely quick and quite surprising to all involved. Me and my agent were both like, 'Really? Are you sure? This is crazy? Okay, fine! We'll do it! We're in!'"

Di Martino emphasized Hiddleston as a starting point but made sure her performance was distinguishable enough. "I looked at his performance, but I try not to be shaped by it too much," she said. "Sylvie has had a very different backstory to Loki. She's a different person, and that was really important to us right from the beginning. When [director] Kate [Herron] pitched me the idea when I finally got the job, and she was able to tell me a bit more about it, it was very clear that Sylvia was Sylvie. And she's not Lady Loki from the comics. I mean, the show is inspired by the comics, but this is a brand-new backstory in a brand-new story and so I wanted to make her my own. You will see, at times throughout the series, that Tom and I do very similar things like our physicality is similar or when we choreographed fight scenes, we'll mirror each other and that's all purposely done. Then the rest of it I've kind of just made up as I go along."

On their scene at the table, Di Martino likened the comparison to the Al Pacino and Robert De Niro's exchange in Michael Mann's Heat (1995). "It's two acquaintances having a chat on the train," she told Deadline, "I didn't realize it would be such a massive thing, and I'm so pleased it is. The engagement with it, and the reaction to it are incredible. I'm glad I didn't overplay it." The actress knew the significance for Loki to reveal their respective coming out as bisexuals.

"When we're filming it, we were aware how important it was. [Director] Kate [Herron] was really keen on getting that into the show," DiMartino said. "People have been waiting for it for a long time, and it was in the comics for a long time. It was really important to us, to her and a lot of people." As far as whether Sylvie is the same Sylvie Lushton who became The Enchantress from the comics, the actress said Marvel didn't explicitly tell her. For more on Di Martino talking about her awareness of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the physical training involved, Hiddleston's Loki lecture, or any spinoff tease, you can check out Variety and Deadline. New episodes of Loki stream Wednesdays on Disney+.

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