Classic Chats: Tom Hiddleston on Pompeii

Pompeii serves as a lens for examining human behavior during catastrophe, particularly through the new docudrama *Pompeii: Out of Time*. Actor Tom Hiddleston, a former Classics student at Cambridge, joins Mary Beard and Charlotte Higgins to discuss the shift in focus from the eruption’s destruction to the survivors' choices. By analyzing archaeological evidence alongside disaster psychology, the series highlights how individuals navigate the proximity of danger, often normalizing threats until it is too late. This approach mirrors the actor’s process of building character, where research meets imaginative reconstruction to fill historical gaps. Ultimately, the study of the ancient world provides a framework for interrogating modern uncertainties, fostering a commitment to intellectual rigor and the courage to live within the ambiguity of complex, unresolved questions.