I feel as though the cardboard box of my own reality has been flattened and blown open. Now I can see the edge of the world.

— Tom Hiddleston

I gave myself permission to care, because there are a lot of people in this world who are afraid of caring, who are afraid of showing they care because it’s uncool. It’s uncool to have passion. It’s so much easier to lose when you’ve shown everyone how much you don’t care if you win or lose. Furthermore, it’s much harder to lose when you show that you care, but you’ll never win unless you also stand to lose. I’ve said it before. Don’t be afraid of your passion, give it free rein, and be honest and work hard, and it will all turn out just fine.

— Tom Hiddleston

I think cruelty is just loneliness disguised as bitterness.

— Tom Hiddleston

I thought theater people wouldn't see me if I hadn't trained. I didn't want to just be the Brides head guy, to spend the rest of my life wearing waistcoats. Furthermore, I got the chance to try everything. Not just Romeos, but pimps and grandfathers and even one role as a woman in a Naomi Wallace play called Slaughter City.

— Tom Hiddleston

I try not to make plans. God always laughs at your plans. I’m going to keep the door open, and keep the page blank, and see what gets painted upon it.

— Tom Hiddleston

It’s in our nature to want to watch our human frailties played out on a huge, epic canvas. Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama: fathers and sons, star-crossed lovers, warring brothers, martyred heroes. Tales that taught us the danger of hubris and the primacy of humility. It’s the everyday stuff of every man’s life, but it’s writ large, and we love it.

— Tom Hiddleston

Joanna points her camera at a section of society unused to having cameras pointed at it. But I don't know about categorizing them in terms of class I'm a bit wary of that. My dad is the son of a shipbuilder.

— Tom Hiddleston

Love your life. Because your life is what you have to give.

— Tom Hiddleston

Maybe it’s just getting older. You become so palpably aware this is not a dress rehearsal. There’s a big sign in blazing neon that says You Haven’t Got Long. But I think it takes a beat to learn that. Life has to knock you down in order for you to realize it, because when you’re a kid you think you’re immortal.

— Tom Hiddleston

My father and I used to tussle about me becoming an actor. He's from strong, Presbyterian Scottish working-class stock, and he used to sit me down and say, 'You know, 99 percent of actors are out of work. You've been educated, so why do you want to spend your life pretending to be someone else when you could be your own man?'

— Tom Hiddleston