Tom Hiddleston is portraying country music legend Hank Williams in the upcoming biopic I Saw The Light, and as part of the promotional blitz, Hiddleston has given live performances of classic Williams tunes. One of those took place at some point last year with Williams’ grandson Hank Williams III in attendance, who didn’t like, and was actually kind of outraged at, what he saw.
Hiddleston’s most recent performance took place on Saturday, and we’re not entirely sure what Williams III is talking about, because Hiddleston was fantastic, as evidenced in the video above.
The film had a premiere in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday, Oct. 17, which was followed be an after party at a Nashville bar that included Hiddleston and a band performing a few Williams tunes, like “Hey Good Lookin'”, “Why Don’t You Love Me Like You Used To Do”, and “Move It On Over”–the last of which Hiddleston performed in a previously released clip from the movie.
Hiddleston stayed in character–save for the modern suit–and cracked jokes with the crowd, which was primarily his co-stars and some musicians. Bradley Whitford, who played songwriter and music executive Fred Rose in the movie, joked that a Nashville crowd might be a tough one: “In front of dark, cynical, inside musicians [that] will be quick to jump to judgment? No tension. No anxiety.”
But alas, Hiddleston held his own and fun times were had. Let us know in the comments whether or not you think he has serious country music chops.
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HT: The Hollywood Reporter
Featured image courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics