Early life and education

Hiddleston was born in Westminster, London. He is the son of Diana Patricia (née Servaes) Hiddleston, an arts administrator and former stage manager, and James Norman Hiddleston, a physical chemist. His father is from Greenock, Scotland and his mother is from Suffolk, England. His younger sister, Emma, is also an actress, whilst his older sister, Sarah, is a journalist in India. Through his mother, he is a great-grandson of Vice Admiral Reginald Servaes, and a great-great-grandson of food producer Sir Edmund Vestey. He was raised in Wimbledon in his early years, and later in Oxford. He attended the Dragon School preparatory school in Oxford, and, by the time he was 13, he boarded at Eton College. During this time, his parents were going through a divorce. When discussing his parents' divorce in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, he stated: "I like to think it made me more compassionate in my understanding of human frailty".

Hiddleston continued on to Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge, where he earned a double first in Classics. During his second term at Cambridge, he was seen in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire by talent agent Lorraine Hamilton, of Hamilton Hodell. He proceeded to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, from which he graduated in 2005.

Career

Film and television

While still doing student plays Hiddleston began doing television, landing parts in Stephen Whittaker's adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby for ITV, the BBC/HBO co-production Conspiracy, and as Randolph Churchill, the son of Winston Churchill, in the BBC/HBO drama The Gathering Storm.

Upon graduating from RADA, Hiddleston was cast in his first film role, playing Oakley in Joanna Hogg's first feature, Unrelated. His sister Emma also appeared in the film as Badge. Casting director, Lucy Bevan, who cast him in the film said "there was just a fantastic confidence about him". He also appeared in the leading role of Edward in Hogg's second feature, Archipelago. His TV credits include Magnus Martinsson in the BBC detective drama Wallander, Bill Hazledine in Suburban Shootout, John Plumptre in the BBC costume drama TV film Miss Austen Regrets and William Buxton in the BBC drama series Return to Cranford. In 2007, he joined a list of British actors, including Kate Winslet and Orlando Bloom, to have guest starred in the long-running medical drama Casualty.

Hiddleston is well known for his portrayal of Loki in the 2011 Marvel Studios film, Thor. He was invited to audition by Kenneth Branagh, the film's director, after having previously worked with Branagh on Ivanov and Wallander. Hiddleston said of Branagh, "Ken has had a life-changing effect. He was able to say to the executives, 'Trust me on this, you can cast Tom and he will deliver'. It was massive and it's completely changed the course of what is available to me to do. Ken gave me my break." In the beginning, he originally auditioned for the part of Thor. "I initially auditioned to play Thor. That was what I was being considered for, because I'm tall and blonde and classically trained, and that seemed to be the mold for what Thor was, he was to be a classical character. And it was in my auditions. I owe this entirely to Marvel and their open-mindedness, they saw something that they thought was interesting. They saw some temperament that they liked." The casting director gave Hiddleston six weeks to bulk up, so he went on a strict diet and gained twenty pounds of muscle. In the end, Branagh decided he was more suitable as the antagonist and cast him as Loki. To prepare for his role as Loki, Hiddleston trained in the Brazilian martial art of capoeira.

Also in 2011 Hiddleston portrayed novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald in writer-director Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, the noble Captain Nicholls in War Horse, a film based on the 1982 novel by Michael Morpurgo, directed by Steven Spielberg, and Freddie Page, a RAF pilot in the drama The Deep Blue Sea, alongside Rachel Weisz. In 2012, he reprised his role as the supervillain Loki in The Avengers. While filming a scene with Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor, the film's director, Joss Whedon told the fighting duo that the scene did not look real enough, so Hiddleston told Hemsworth to really hit him for the fight scene. "I said to Chris, 'Dude, just hit me. Just hit me because I'm protected here and it's fine.' He's like, 'Are you sure?' I was like, 'Yeah, it will look great. Just go for it.'"

On television in 2012 Hiddleston appeared in the BBC Two series The Hollow Crown, portraying Prince Hal opposite Jeremy Irons as Henry IV in the adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part I and Part II. He later as appeared as King Henry V in the television film Henry V. In 2013, Hiddleston played Loki again in Thor: The Dark World, following which he played a vampire, Adam, in Jim Jarmusch's film Only Lovers Left Alive with Tilda Swinton as Eve and Mia Wasikowska. He had a cameo in the 2014 film Muppets Most Wanted, as the Great Escapo.

Hiddleston replaced Benedict Cumberbatch in the gothic horror film Crimson Peak, directed by Guillermo del Toro. The film started filming in Toronto in February 2014, and was released in October 2015. Upcoming roles include Robert Laing in the film adaptation of J. G. Ballard's novel High Rise, directed by Ben Wheatley. The film started shooting in Northern Ireland in July 2014.

It was announced in June 2014 that Hiddleston will play country music singer Hank Williams in the upcoming biopic I Saw the Light, based on the 1994 biography. It will be directed by Marc Abraham and is set to start shooting in Louisiana in October 2014. Legendary Pictures announced in September 2014 that Hiddleston would star in the upcoming King Kong film Kong: Skull Island. It is set to be released on 10 March 2017 and will be directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts. He is also set to reprise his role as Loki in Thor: Ragnarok, scheduled for release on 3 November 2017, as well as Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1 (2018) and Part 2 (2019).

Hiddleston appears as Jonathan Pine in the television mini-series The Night Manager based on the espionage and detective novel of the same name by John le Carré. The series started filming in Spring 2015 and is currently airing on AMC with Hugh Laurie also starring.

Theatre

Hiddleston had leading roles in Declan Donnellan's company Cheek by Jowl's productions The Changeling, and Cymbeline. For the latter he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play. His Donmar Warehouse credits include Cassio in Michael Grandage's production of Shakespeare's Othello alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor and Ewan McGregor and later Lvov in their West End revival of Chekhov's Ivanov with Kenneth Branagh.

Hiddleston appeared with Benedict Cumberbatch, Gemma Arterton, Eddie Redmayne and Rose Byrne among others in Danny Boyle's one time production of The Children's Monologues on 14 November 2010 where he played Prudence, a young girl upset with her mother for her father leaving and excited for her birthday. The play was a one time event of adapted stories of children's first-hand experiences in South Africa being re-interpreted by and performed by various actors. From 6 December 2013 to 13 February 2014, Hiddleston played the title character in William Shakespeare's Coriolanus at the Donmar Warehouse in Covent Garden directed by Josie Rourke. It was also aired live internationally on 30 January 2014.

Narrations

Hiddleston was the voiceover for BBC's documentary on the Galapagos Island in 2006. He also narrated the audiobook The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner in 2007, along with the British Museum on the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead in 2011 and poetry for iF Poems and The Love Book on iTunes in 2012. Hiddleston will be one of the narrators in the upcoming 2015 documentary Unity directed by Shaun Monson. He is one of the 100 narrators for the film, other voices will include those of Adam Levine, Anjelica Huston, Ben Kingsley, Cloris Leachman, Geoffrey Rush, Marion Cotillard, and Olivia Wilde.

Jaguar ad campaign

In January 2014, Hiddleston became a spokesperson for Jaguar Cars in their "Good to be Bad" ad campaign featuring British actors in villain-themed commercials to promote Jaguars new models. The first commercial of the campaign, titled "Rendezvous", first aired during the 2014 Super Bowl and featured Hiddleston along with Mark Strong and Ben Kingsley.

In April 2014, Hiddleston starred in another commercial in the campaign, titled "The Art of Villainy". It was released on YouTube, promoting the F-Type coupe. However, the Advertising Standards Authority received complaints about the video "encouraging irresponsible driving". Jaguar Land Rover said that in the ad, when the car did leave the car park, it "accelerated briefly" and that police were present at filming to confirm the speed limit was not breached but the ASA ruled against it and banned the commercial.

Personal life

Hiddleston was one of the celebrities, including Benedict Cumberbatch, Jo Brand, E. L. James and Rachel Riley, to design and sign his own card for the UK-based charity Thomas Coram Foundation for Children. The campaign was launched by crafting company Stampin' Up! UK and the cards were auctioned off on eBay during May 2014.

Hiddleston is also a supporter of the humanitarian and developmental assistance fund group UNICEF. He travelled to Guinea in early 2013 to help women and children and raise awareness about hunger and malnutrition.

Hiddleston is a self-described feminist.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Refs.
2006	Unrelated	Oakley
2010	Archipelago	Edward
2011	Thor	Loki
2011	Midnight in Paris	F. Scott Fitzgerald
2011	War Horse	Captain Nicholls
2011	Friend Request Pending	Tom	Short film
2012	The Deep Blue Sea	Freddie Page
2012	Out of Time	Man	Short film
2012	The Avengers	Loki
2012	Out of Darkness	Male	Short film
2013	Only Lovers Left Alive	Adam
2013	Exhibition	Jamie Macmillan
2013	Thor: The Dark World	Loki
2014	Muppets Most Wanted	Great Escapo
2014	The Pirate Fairy	James Hook	Voice
2015	Unity	Narrator	Documentary
2015	High-Rise	Dr. Robert Laing
2015	Crimson Peak	Sir Thomas Sharpe
2016	I Saw the Light	Hank Williams
2017	Kong: Skull Island	Captain James Conrad	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Refs.
2001	The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby	Lord	Television film
2001	Conspiracy	Phone Operator	Television film
2001	Armadillo	Toby Sherrifmuir	Television film
2002	The Gathering Storm	Randolph Churchill	Television film
2005	A Waste of Shame	John Hall	Television film
2006	Victoria Cross Heroes	Capt. 'Jack' Randle	Episode: "The Modern Age"
2006	Suburban Shootout	Bill Hazeldine	10 episodes
2006	Galápagos	Charles Darwin (voice)	Episode: "Islands that Changed the World"
2007	Casualty	Chris Vaughn	Episode: "The Killing Floor"
2008	Wallander	Magnus Martinsson	6 episodes
2008	Miss Austen Regrets	Mr. John Plumptre	Television film
2009	Return to Cranford	William Buxton	2 episodes
2009	Darwin's Secret Notebooks	Charles Darwin (voice)	Documentary
2012	Robot Chicken	Lorax narrator (voice)	Episode "Butchered in Burbank"
2012	Henry IV Part I and Part II	Prince Hal	Television film
2012	Henry V	Henry V	Television film
2013	Family Guy	Statue Griffin (voice)	Episode: "No Country Club for Old Men"
2016	The Night Manager	Jonathan Pine	TV miniseries

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Ref.
2005	Yorgjin Oxo: The Man	Yorgjin Oxo	Theatre 503
2006	The Changeling	Alsemero	Cheek by Jowl/Barbican/European Tour
2007	Cymbeline	Posthumus Leonatus & Cloten	Cheek by Jowl/Barbican/World Tour
2008	Othello	Cassio	Donmar Warehouse
2008	Ivanov	Lvov	Donmar Warehouse
2010	The Children's Monologues	Prudence	Old Vic Theatre
2012	The Kingdom of Earth	Lot	Criterion Theatre
2013	Coriolanus	Coriolanus	Donmar Warehouse/Covent Garden Theatre

Video game

Year	Title	Voice role
2011	Thor: God of Thunder	Loki

Radio

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes	Ref.
2002	The Trial of the Angry Brigade	John Barker	Peter Kavanagh	BBC Radio 4
2006	Dracula	Jonathan Harker	Marion Nancarrow	BBC World Service
2006	Another Country	Tommy Judd	Marc Beeby	BBC Radio 4
2007	Caesar III: An Empire Without End	Romulus	Jeremy Mortimer	BBC Radio 4
2008	Othello	Cassio	Michael Grandage	BBC Radio 3
2008	The Leopard	Tancredi	Lucy Bailey	BBC Radio 3
2008	Cyrano de Bergerac	Christian	David Timson	BBC Radio 3
2009	Carnival	Lords of Misrule	Zahid Warley	BBC Radio 3

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Work	Result	Ref.
2007	Ian Charleson Award Third Prize	Othello	Won
2008	Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play	Othello	Nominated
		Cymbeline	Won
2010	Crime Thriller Award for Best Supporting Actor	Wallander	Nominated
2011	Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast	Midnight in Paris	Nominated
2011	Scream Award for Breakout Performance - Male	Thor	Nominated
2012	Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer	Thor	Won
2012	Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor	Archipelago	Nominated
2012	BAFTA Rising Star Award	Thor	Nominated
2012	Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor	Thor	Nominated
2012	Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Villain	The Avengers	Nominated
2012	Glamour Award for Man of the Year	N/A	Won
2013	Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Villain	The Avengers	Nominated
2013	MTV Movie Award for Best Fight	The Avengers	Won
2013	MTV Movie Award for Best Villain	The Avengers	Won
2014	Empire Award for Best Supporting Actor	Thor: The Dark World	Nominated
2014	Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor	Coriolanus	Nominated
2014	Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor	Thor: The Dark World	Nominated
2014	Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor	Coriolanus	Won
2015	British Independent Film Award for Best Actor	High-Rise	Nominated
2015	Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor	High-Rise; Crimson Peak	Nominated

Charities

Tom Hiddleston supports the following charitable cause: ALS (amyrotrophic lateral sclerosis).

[ Source: Wikipedia ]