Tom Hiddleston is currently on a media run for season two of his Marvel show, Loki. On this run, he sat down with Jimmy Fallon and talked about playing against the fastest man alive, Usain Bolt, in a charity match.
The interview started with the topic of the Soccer Aid match. The charity match organized in collaboration with UNICEF is an annual event where former players and celebrities come together to play a match and raise money for charity. Hiddleston shared his experience of representing England in this match and man-marking Usain Bolt.
The Marvel actor commented on the peculiar situation: “This is kick-off and I was playing on the right wing defensive midfielder and I look up to see who I am man marking, and it is the fastest man alive. When you see the legs coming towards you, it’s like an express train.”
Jimmy Fallon then moved on to show certain pictures from the match. Among those pictures, one picture captured the moment when Tom Hiddleston was ahead of Usain Bolt. The English actor acknowledges the incident: “Yeah, I like to think. I don’t know if it’s the angle, but in this photograph, I am ahead of him.” The crowd and Jimmy Fallon both cheered on the fact that at least, in a picture, Hiddleston is ahead of Bolt.
The English actor later discussed how privileged and thrilling it was to go against such a big international sports icon. He concluded by stating: “You know, I think, I gave him a few problems, cause obviously, he is unbelievably quick. So people just want to swing the ball over to him, and he’ll put it in the back of the net. But I stuck to him, you know, I held my own.”
The English actor moved ahead in the interview to discuss his show and how the finale of season two of Loki is a full-circle moment. He concluded the interview by responding to fan theories about the series.
Tom Hiddleston and Usain Bolt raised $18 Million for UNICEF
Circling back to the Soccer Aid event, the event was a massive success in its 2023 installment. The event raised around $18 million ($17.88 million) to help out children around the world in need. The money raised for charity must have helped Tom Hiddleston to heal the pain of the loss in the match.
A special message from Tom Hiddleston 🏴💙👏@twhiddleston || @UNICEF_uk || #SoccerAid pic.twitter.com/5ZuJHUkKyC
— Soccer Aid (@socceraid) June 12, 2023
The England side came out second best in the event as they lost to the Rest of the World side by a scoreline of 4-2. Despite huge efforts from the English actor, Usain Bolt did indeed get on the scoresheet when he slotted the ball past David James, former England International.
The charity event was first held back in 2006 and has become a yearly tradition since 2018. This time around, former players like Francesco Totti, Hernán Crespo, Nani, and Roberto Carlos joined hands with celebrities such as Liam Payne, Tommy Fury, Stormzy, and Tom Hiddleston. The event had so many memorable moments which are still being discussed in pop culture months later.