Like most of the world, I don’t think there is any doubt that we here at 4YE are rather fond of the dashing and charming Mr Tom Hiddleston. Just like us, Tom is also having a birthday. 4YE has turned one, and Tom is turning 34. In celebration of his birthday, here are 15 reasons why we think he’s awesome!

1. The Singing and The Dancing!

Ok so we know he can dance……and the Hiddlestoners each have their favourite videos of his funky dance moves, but let’s take a look at one example.

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we also know he can sing…..



And the guy can act his pants off. He has won a lot of awards recently including The London Evening Standard Theatre. One only needs to watch a cross section of his work to see it, from doomed Captain Nicholls in Spielberg’s War Horse through to the depressed morose Vampire Adam in Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive.

2. Shakespeare

Tom has made Shakespeare far better known to a much wider audience, many of whom would never have sat , for example, and watched the four part mini series The Hollow Crown if not for him. He has opened it up to a lot of people who were afraid of the language as well as to his younger audience who are willing to take the plunge to experience it.



3. Charity Begins … with Tom

When it comes to actors and supporting awareness of causes, there are some cynics that are prone to wonder how being photographed in a t-shirt or holding a sign is supportive. Showing support for a cause, allows fans (who wouldn’t otherwise know of its existence) to get on board and, in turn then help as well. Hiddleston is such a great champion of using his fame and his personal time to support causes. It’s the last one that you have to admire. Time is a very valuable resource for anyone, let alone one of the busiest guys in the industry. It shows he genuinely does care.

He has visited Guinea for UNICEF,

and participated in the Live Below The Line challenge,

Tom has donated items for fundraising, like his shoes for the Small Steps program, as well as designed a card for children’s charity Coram . He also participated in the Nerd HQ panel at San Diego Comic Con, presented by his Thor: The Dark World co-star Zach Levi. This little gem raises money for the Operation Smile campaign, and last year we were treated to his ALS ice bucket challenge video.

He is also, along with Emma Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch, a proud supporter of the #HeForShe campaign, and just days ago we got THIS, for the, which you really need to watch for yourself.

He has supported causes for children, health, human rights, poverty, slavery and human trafficking using his profile. If you’re going to be famous, you may as well do something very good with it.

4. He’s a great villain

Hiddleston’s stellar turn as the God of Mischief, Loki, has really been the catalyst for creating many of his fans. He does, as one fan, Susan, explained it “Come across as very sinister and very sexual at the same time. A lot of actors can do it, of course, but Tom can do it to the nth degree. He can do that while being the nicest guy in town.”

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He is also part of the hilarious and clever Jaguar USA campaign which is known as #GoodToBeBad.

5. His Work Ethic…..

Despite the fans wanting to see more of him, we have in fact seen a whole lot less of Tom Hiddleston this last year.

During his busy filming schedule of 2014 it was all business and while fans were able to see him on some sets such as Crimson Peak and High Rise, he was hunkered down as Hank for I Saw The Light. He is renowned in the industry for being one of the nicest people to work with, and you can’t buy that type of publicity.

He is also so passionate about getting back to the grass roots of theatre. He has become a Nuffield Associate for the Nuffield Theatre in Southampton in the UK. He will be hosting an exclusive Nuffield Friends’ and Members’ event at the Nuffield Theatre.

6. He’s a bit clever

Apart from sporting a double first in Classics from Cambridge, the Etonian educated Hiddleston also studied at RADA and is fiercely intelligent.

A great interview is this one, which shows some of his thought process and how smart and thoughtful he is.

7. The things he says

Sometimes, Hiddleston just comes out with these little (or not so little) inspirational statements or affirmation-style comments. He comes across as wise beyond his years.

He has said some really great things that are quite profound: “We all have two lives. The second one starts when we realise that we only have one,” and “The thing with negativity is, for my money, they are like clouds that pass across the sun. And they will pass; they are just feelings, you know what I mean? And it’s important not to dwell on them”. He also shared this gem: “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. …. Don’t be afraid of your passion, give it free reign, and be honest and work hard and it will all turn out just fine.”

During the Nerd HQ conversation panel he was asked various questions by the audience… and for someone who is essentially put on the spot, to be able to give such remarkable, insightful answers is truly astounding. Yes they were very long answers sometimes, which then always ended with a “sorry, did I answer that ok?”

8.He’s a bit … real (although there are doubters)

He’s not afraid to be silly, to make light of the situation, to make a joke and show his human side. He has a lovely self-deprecating sense of humour. A good example was a red carpet event where he was asked the trite “what are you wearing?,” and without skipping a beat replied “a suit” and strode on by to the next reporter….

Although I think this is the perfect time to use THIS picture…

9. Him and his Fans

Tom himself is renowned for always being patient and polite and affable with his fans. He not only stops for photographs, but usually takes the photo as well!

Whether he knows it or not, Tom has been the catalyst for bringing his fans together, creating friendships and even working relationships.

The fandom also has a lot of charity events inspired by Tom Hiddleston’s own charitable nature. They also do things, just for the fun of it. One of those is is called Tom’s Spirit Week, carried out in the week prior to his birthday.

Twitter user HiddlesEducates, who was the creator of this project gave me a little background on how it came about:

“Spirit week is my big event and I started it just for fun. … I chose Tom because there’s so much that he does in his life and his professional career that we could honor him through the course of the week with fun stuff to do. I started spirit week in 2013 and I am so proud to say that it’s grown exponentially. I am so humbled by the support of the big (Twitter) accounts, the accounts with many many followers. That’s another example of how we are a community” She finished off with the perfect summation: “We all have Tom in common, but we all have real life in common, too.”

If you want to check it out, go to Twitter and look up #TomsSpiritWeek to see who has been doing what.

10 – He can wear a damn suit, in fact he OWNS it.

Never in the history of men’s apparel has wearing a suit been so …. well worn. He rocks a black suit, a blue suit and even looks outstanding in a suit of armour. And not many men can pull off looking THIS good in a dragonfly jacket.

11. Impersonations

Tom has a way with impersonations. Apart from the most amazing portrayal of Loki, where we loved him even if he was the bad guy, he could have been Thor (he did audition originally for the role), or Captain America because he wore the heck out of that suit.

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He even covered Jane pretty good.

He does an Aussie accent which is no mean feat for ANYONE. Being Australian myself, Hiddleston’s is pretty spot on I have to say. He’s so Aussie that he’s even an honorary part of the Hemsworth family!

12. Cookie Monster….

Who doesn’t love the furry little blue dude! Also let’s not overlook the fact that Cookie Monster has big googly eyes like half of his fans.

Ladies and gents I present the lesson in delayed gratification.

13. Poetry

Listening to an articulate human being is nice for anyone’s ears. As a result Hiddleston’s reading of one of my favourite poems turns us all to jelly.

https://soundcloud.com/tomhiddlestonmexico/tom-hiddleston-desiderata-by

14. Cars

Jag Ads aside….. I give you Top Gear and Vanity Fair. That is all.

15. The Impending Tompocalypse

While last year he had his head down and bum up working his heart out, this year we get to see the fruits of that labour. Hiddleston has four of known major projects coming out, and no doubt some other little things he has snuck in there. Fans are itching to see Crimson Peak, High Rise, I Saw The Light and The Night Manager.

Not one to rest on his laurels, he is still working and all his fans hope to see him hit the promo trail very soon. In fact at the risk of sounding like a broken record, Mr del Toro… WHERE IS OUR TRAILER FOR CRIMSON PEAK?

Hiddleston will also be shooting (or possibly has already shot) his Avengers: Age of Ultron parts, and word is Skull Island is about to commence filming. He has a lot of projects in the pipeline, and his name has been mentioned for so many things as his star rises.

So when people wonder why Tom Hiddleston well because it’s Tom Hiddleston, that’s why.

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