Tom Hiddleston Played the Front Leg of an Elephant—You Won’t Believe How He Stood Out in This School Play!

Years before he donned Loki’s horned helmet or Eddie Redmayne transformed into Stephen Hawking, the two British stars shared a stage at Eton College. It was a time of unlikely roles and youthful creativity, culminating in what may be one of the most memorable school play anecdotes ever told: Tom Hiddleston playing the front right leg of an elephant.

The production in question was an adaptation of E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India. The story called for a journey to the Marabar Caves, a sequence that involved characters riding on an elephant. At Eton, a prestigious all-boys school, casting such a scene required inventive staging. While Redmayne—already considered a “huge star” among his classmates—took on the female lead of Adela Quested, Hiddleston found himself in the rather unconventional position of serving as a section of the elephant’s anatomy.

Rather than employing elaborate props or costumes, the production relied on humor and ingenuity. A table draped with a tablecloth served as the elephant’s body, with Hiddleston and others holding it up and moving in unison. This approach, as Hiddleston later described, involved choreographed coordination and plenty of laughs.

The story of Hiddleston’s elephant-leg role remained a charming backstage memory until he recounted it on The Graham Norton Show in February 2017. The actor shared the tale with his signature wit, earning laughter from the audience and host alike. Entertainment news outlets quickly picked up the story, celebrating the amusing contrast between Hiddleston’s prestigious current career and his humble school play beginnings.

In retrospect, the anecdote underscores the early camaraderie and talent that would later define both Hiddleston and Redmayne’s careers. At Eton, Redmayne was already admired for his acting skills, a foreshadowing of his Oscar-winning performance in The Theory of Everything. Meanwhile, Hiddleston’s willingness to embrace even the most unconventional roles hints at the versatility that would make him a Hollywood star.

This slice of school play history offers more than just a good laugh. It reminds us that even the most celebrated actors had to start somewhere—even if that “somewhere” involved walking on all fours under a tablecloth. As these two esteemed performers continue to shine, fans can fondly recall a time when one of them was simply the front leg of an elephant, and the other was making a name for himself in a girls’ role.