Tom Hiddleston is surprised he is still playing Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The 36-year-old actor has starred as the Norse God of mischief and villainous adoptive brother to hero Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in four films so far but he admits he never expected his run as the character to last as long as it has.

He said: ''It is a source of constant surprise to me that I'm still here.

''I never expected that when I started playing him. I feel a huge responsibility to deliver the character people know, even though it's been four years since I last played him, and also to try to take him in new directions. I've spent six or seven years of my life trying to get to the bottom of what exactly it is that he wants. When he seems to get close to what he wants - power, acceptance, belonging - he changes direction. I think that is the thing that keeps him interesting in a way. He's cunning and transformative and changeable, and will do everything he can to survive. He's the trickster. He's the God of mischief.''

Hiddleston reprises his role as Loki in 'Thor: Ragnarok' and admits when he put the costume on again he felt like he was looking at ''an old friend'' in the mirror.

He said: ''When I put the costume, the make-up and wig for the first time for this film and looked in the mirror, I thought to myself, 'Wow, there he is.' It was like seeing an old friend. It was good to see him, in a way. I feel like I know him.''

'Thor: Ragnarok' marks the first time the MCU will feature a lead female villain, Hela - played by Cate Blanchett and the film also features another strong-female Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson).