Tom Hiddlestone – “Never stop. Never stop fighting. Never stop dreaming.” – Birthday Special

Thomas William Hiddleston was born on 9 February 1981 in Westminister, London, the son of Diana Patricia (née Servaes) Hiddleston, an arts administrator and former stage manager, and Dr. James Norman Hiddleston, a physical chemist and former managing director of a biotech company that liaised with Oxford University.

Hiddleston is an English actor, film producer, and musician. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Laurence Olivier Award, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards.

At the beginning of his career, he appeared in West End productions of ‘Cymbeline’ (2007) and Ivanov (2008). He won the Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play for his role in Cymbeline and was also nominated for the same award for his role as Cassio in Othello (2008).

Hiddleston made his film debut in the drama Unrelated (2007). He came to wider public attention when cast as ‘Loki’ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). In 2021, he will reprise his role as Loki in the Disney+ series of the same name.

Hiddleston’s big Hollywood break came as Loki in Thor. Part of the reason he got the part was that he had previously worked with the film’s director, Kenneth Branagh. The two worked together on the stage in Chekhov’s Ivanov, and on the small screen in the BBC detective drama Wallander.

Although he was initially ambitious to play the role of Thor, it was a stroke of good fortune that Hiddleston’s role was changed to Loki in the films. The actor excelled at playing the complex villain, and people took notice. The magazine Empire even listed his Loki as the 19th Greatest Movie Character of All Time.

Hiddleston cites his good friend Chris Hemsworth (who plays Marvel’s Thor) as his favorite actor to work with on-screen. In a Twitter Q and A, Hiddleston said that Hemsworth “makes me a better actor. We have such a good laugh. We trust each other. All my best scenes are with Chris.”