The despicably charming Tom Hiddleston was meant to appear as the despicably charming Loki for a cameo in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but was cut at the last minute. Finally, the star himself explains why.

Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, Hiddleston says that test screening audiences presumed that Loki's appearance in Thor's dream sequence meant The God of Mischief was actually controlling the film's real villain, evil AI Ultron.

Click play on the video above to see the trickster elaborate on what actually happened when Marvel head honcho Kevin Fiege called him up to explain why he'd been cut.

For anyone allergic to moving images, however, here are just a few of his words, typed out for your reading pleasure:

"In test screenings, audiences had overemphasised Loki's role, so they thought that because I was in it, I was controlling Ultron, and it was actually imbalancing people's expectations."

Hiddleston was speaking to Digital Spy during his press rounds for Guillermo del Toro's upcoming horror Crimson Peak (see trailer below), due out in UK cinemas on October 16.

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for our full interview with Hiddleston later this week, where you'll get to see some more of his famous impressions...

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