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The movie follows Williams' career from his breakthrough in
the 1940s to his death from heart failure, slumped in the back
of his Cadillac, at the age of 29 in 1953.
London-born "Thor" actor, Hiddleston, said one of the biggest
challenges he faced was learning Williams' accent.
"He has a resonant tone of a gospel preacher, which comes from
something deep in his southern roots," he told Reuters at the
film's premiere in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. "As soon as I
started to listen to the cadence and the musicality of the way
he spoke, that was when it clicked for me."
He described the singer-songwriter - whose hits included "Your
Cheatin' Heart" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" - as "a
cornerstone in the development of American music".
"Music is the most evocative, most immediately emotional art
form, I think. My admiration for singers is huge and I think
singing is the most naked means of expression, there's nothing
to hide behind," Hiddleston said.
The film also looks at Williams' relationship with his first
wife Audrey, played by "Avengers" star Elizabeth Olsen, which
grew more tempestuous as the singer relied increasingly on
painkillers and alcohol.
It is one of several music biopics, including "Miles Ahead" with
Don Cheadle as Miles Davis and "Born to Be Blue" in which Ethan
Hawke portrays Chet Baker, to be released this year.
"I Saw the Light" opens in cinemas in Los Angeles, New York and
Nashville on Friday.
(Reporting by Reuters Television in Los Angeles; Writing by
Marie-Louise Gumuchian in London; Editing by Louise Ireland)
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