The life of a celebrity is often seen as glamourous and blessed, as though it's filled with nothing but success, red carpets, and champagne. The public loves devouring any juicy gossip about favorite stars. This is part of what keeps actors in the spotlight...and earning their hefty paycheques. Media exposure can be exhausting for celebs who want to enjoy a little anonymity during their downtime.
Success and fame are often paired with 'how you look', instead of your talents. Hiddleston knows how much of his success is about his looks and not his raw talent. He said: “Quite often, most of us are defined first by our vital statistics - our sex, our height, our weight, the color of our eyes, and then we're defined by our job.”
Relationships with other celebrities are captured by the paparazzi, so something as simple as a dinner out on the town or a small tiff with their significant other can become tabloid fodder for weeks.
While it may seem like Tom Hiddleston has been an open book about his personal life, there are certain things he’d rather not talk about or dwell on. He wants the world to focus on his body of work.
Here are 15 facts about the career and life of Tom Hiddleston that he might want to keep to himself.
15 Behind His Relationship With Taylor Swift
Despite their short time together, the duo earned the infamous nickname, ‘Hiddleswift’. While things didn’t work out for the two, both are careful not to speak ill of one another...however, Tom probably wants to move past the Swift talk.
Hiddleston has said of his ex, “Taylor is an amazing woman. She’s generous and kind and lovely, and we had the best time.” When asked about the rumors that his relationship with Taylor Swift was merely a PR stunt and not a genuine romance, Hiddleston is quick to say, “Of course it was real.”
14 The 'Back-Sided' Compliment
This might be embarrassing or could be a point of pride. An English award celebrating the (ahem) ‘assets’ of actors added Tom Hiddleston to their roster. He earned the illustrious award, ‘Rear of the Year’. This award has been around for nearly five decades and Hiddleston shares this honor with fellow celebrities, including Robbie Williams and Daniel Radcliffe. While he isn’t being celebrated for his acting chops, he’s certainly being appreciated for his buns.
13 Philanthropy Moments - Humble Brag Gone Bad
Celebs who do charity work find that's it's a great way for them to give back, whether it's through action or fund donation. Unfortunately, when celebs brag about their work helping the unfortunate (or educating others about a cause), this can be seen as having a “savior complex”.
When Hiddleston won a Golden Globe in 2017, he told a story about meeting with members of Doctors Without Borders, and he also referred to South Sudan as being “broken”. It led to people criticizing him for being out of touch and spoiled
12 A Lifelong Bachelor
Tom Hiddleston has been lucky in his career, but not so much in love. Despite being in his late thirties, an age when most people begin to think about settling down and having children, Tom hasn’t had a notable long-term relationship that the public has been aware of. Not for quite some time, anyway.
11 He Really Wanted To Play Thor
Loki wants to be praised like his brother, Thor. It turns out that Tom also wanted to be more like the God of Thunder - he even bulked up to audition for that part. In a serendipitous moment, the film's casting team realized that they had found their perfect Loki.
10 His Previous Athletic Career
Rugby is known as a rough-and-tumble sport, to say the least. When he attended Cambridge University, Tom was on the Varsity rugby team. He later stopped playing the sport so he could focus on acting. This was probably for the best, as the bruises and bumps from the game may have hurt his handsome face.
9 The Other Tom He Wants To Be
Many people have heroes whom they aspire to be like; for Tom Hiddleston, that person is Tom Hanks. He gushed his admiration for the fellow celeb during his GQ Interview. Hiddleston said he admires Hanks most because: “His decency is poured into everything he does. I’m nowhere near Tom Hanks’s contribution or even close. All of it’s not high art, you know? But there is a value in it, you know, somehow, somewhere.” Time will tell if his career can stand up against his idol’s.
8 Loki Was His Breakout Role
Being connected in Hollywood really helps you and, while no one wants to believe that they got a role because they knew someone, instead of based on their talents, it helps to see a friendly face in the audition room.
Because Tom Hiddleston had previously worked with Kenneth Branagh, he had a leg up on other actors, mainly because Branagh understood his range and talents. Thankfully, Hiddleston’s performance was so good that no one really questioned why he landed the part.
7 On Relationships In The Spotlight
In addition to his famous flame, Taylor Swift, his other relationships haven’t exactly been with unknowns. Hiddleston has also been romantically connected to Susannah Fielding, Kat Dennings, Lara Pulver, and Elizabeth Olsen. It seems that Hiddleston has struggled with balancing fame and romance.
When speaking about relationships with famous people, Hiddleston said, “ relationship in the limelight… A relationship always takes work. A relationship in the limelight takes work. And it’s not just the limelight. It’s everything else.” It wouldn’t surprise us if his next major relationship is with someone out of the spotlight.
6 The Role Everyone Thought He Played
Actors want to be known for their roles and for their unforgettable performances. Things get a little awkward when an actor is continually mistaken for a colleague. In 2012, when Prometheus, a prequel to the famous movie, Alien, was released, everyone sang the praises of Hiddleston for his performance. The only problem was Hiddleston wasn’t in the movie; the star they were thinking of was Michael Fassbender. Awkward!
5 His Famous Classmates Growing Up
Tom Hiddleston wasn’t exactly cash-strapped growing up. The well-off star attended the exclusive private school, Eton, alongside other upper-crust classmates, such as Eddie Redmayne - and the two have maintained their friendship for more than 20 years now. Hiddleston attended the school at the same time that Prince William did, only William was one year below him. Hiddleston wouldn’t name drop though, even when starting out, cause that’s just tacky.
4 The Person Who Pushes Him To Be A Better Actor
During The Avengers, after receiving notes from Joss Whedon that his fight scene with Thor wasn’t realistic enough, Hiddleston insisted that Hemsworth really hit him. Tom felt that his costume would act as a shield. It worked, but he had a few bruises to tend to after the scene was filmed.
While Hiddleston once coveted the part of Thor, he credits Chris Hemsworth (who got the part) as being the person to help him improve his craft. Mashable reported that Hiddleston said, “(he) makes me a better actor. We have such a good laugh. We trust each other. All my best scenes are with Chris.”
3 A True Gentleman?
While many people pride themselves on being cutthroat in business, Tom Hiddleston is not one of these people. When Hiddleston was asked to replace Benedict Cumberbatch in the thriller, Crimson Peak, he wanted to make sure he wasn’t stepping on any toes. Hiddleston said, “The thing is we’re really good friends, and as soon as Guillermo called, I called Benedict and I said this is happening, and he was like, ‘Amazing!’ So, I had his blessing.”
2 Another Life As A Chef?
It turns out Tom has talents beyond acting and is quite the chef, well known for his famed Bolognese. The secret? Braising it in the oven after you’ve browned it on the stovetop, plus plenty of bacon and butter. According to a GQ reporter who Tom cooked for, the Bolognese is nearly as tasty cold as it is warm. Well, if his career takes a wrong turn, maybe he can start a cooking show.
1 The Banned Commercial
When Hiddleston became famous for his 'bad boy' performance as Loki, he decided to cash in on his villainous persona. Hiddleston joined other famous English actors like Mark Strong and Ben Kingsley to star in a Jaguar ad series entitled, “Good to be Bad”. The commercial was banned from airing on English TV after parenting groups protested that the series glorified dangerous driving practices.
Sources: E Online, Vocal Media, Factinate, Biography