As he continues his meteoric rise to fame with a leading role in new movie War Horse, dashing British thespian Tom Hiddleston tells SHEREEN LOW why he has no plans to take a break

What a difference a year makes. Back in 2010, few cinemagoers had Tom Hiddleston on their radar. Fast forward 12 months and the English actor has been a staple on the big screen, appearing in four films, including Kenneth Branagh's Thor and Woody Allen's Midnight In Paris.

His hard work and constant perseverance has already paid off, winning him a place on the shortlist for the Bafta Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award alongside Thor co-star Chris Hemsworth and British actors like Chris O'Dowd and Eddie Redmayne.

Yet the success hasn't gone to his head and Hiddleston, looking sharp in a fitted three-piece designer suit and slicked-back hair, still has to pinch himself at times.

"It's been a very busy year, but it's great!" says the 30-year-old. "It's strange because, to be totally honest, before the beginning of 2010 I had only made one feature film in my entire life, and then I made five in the space of 12 months."

As well as playing villain Loki in Thor and American author F Scott Fitzgerald in Allen's nostalgic, romantic drama, the London-born actor has starred in mentor Joanna Hogg's Archipelago and Terence Davies's period piece The Deep Blue Sea, alongside Rachel Weisz.

Fans don't have to wait long for his next movie appearance, as he portrays debonair cavalry officer Captain Nicholls in War Horse, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the stage play, based on Michael Morpurgo's novel.

"It's been a rollercoaster ride. The directors I've worked with in the space of one year are on the wish list of the directors I'd like to work with in a lifetime," says Hiddleston.

The Eton-educated thespian continues: "To go from Kenneth Branagh to Steven Spielberg to Woody Allen to Terence Davies; all four of them are some of the most accomplished cinematic artists in living memory... and in the history of cinema. I've been very, very lucky."

Set amid the backdrop of the First World War, War Horse centres on the close connection between a young boy, Albert, played by Jeremy Irvine, and his horse Joey. Hiddleston's character buys Albert's much-loved equine, only to ride him into the battlefield.

"The experience of the film is breathtaking. Just because it's a war film, it's about hope and courage and perseverance, set against the shocking waste of that particular war," says Hiddleston.

"This story about one horse is really about the durability and the courage of the human spirit.

"Steven told me he'd been looking for a story to tell about the First World War for a while, and then he saw the stage show and was moved beyond words by it."

Hiddleston won the role in War Horse after impressing the Oscar-winning director, who likens him to screen legend Errol Flynn. The feeling seems to be mutual.

"He's a master craftsman," says the actor. "Steven gave me the most amazing note during the cavalry charge.

"He said, 'Give me your war face at the top of the shot, but as you feel the camera move across your face, I want you to de-age yourself by 20 years. I want to see the child in you'.

"That was one of the most astonishing acting notes I've ever been given."

The role has also given him a new appreciation of horses. "All through the film, I noticed that whatever I was feeling, the horses would reflect back to me," he says. "They sense fear, arrogance, and they can sense a kind of inner peace."

It was also challenging at times, as he had to master riding on a horse with a weapon in hand.

"Working with swords requires a lot of precision, practice and discipline – especially working swords around horses! From day one, we had to start learning to ride one-handed," he recalls.

Hiddleston, who got a double first in Classics from Cambridge, confesses he's like an excitable child on set, because he's deeply passionate about his job. "I love acting – I love shooting a scene and the moment of creation," he says.

He was inspired to act after watching a Henrik Ibsen play. "When I was 14, I saw John Gabriel Borkman with Vanessa Redgrave and Eileen Atkins. It wasn't an easy time in my life at that age and I felt a unity of understanding in the audience.

"But I don't want to be too po-faced about it. Long before I saw the play, I saw Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and wanted to do that, too.

"Some of the great times of my life were in Thor and The Avengers, where it's superheroes, gods and flying through space and time."

Hiddleston made his screen debut in the ITV film The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby in 2001. A handful of TV roles in Wallander, Cranford and Casualty amongst stage parts in The Changeling, Cymbeline and Othello soon followed.

"It feels very rewarding because success didn't happen instantly," he admits. "It hasn't been easy and there has been rejection along the way. It's a tough profession but it's also the best job in the world. It has taken me 10 years and I've had to question myself and do a lot of soul-searching in that time."

After such a busy year, other actors may be itching to put their feet up, but not Hiddleston. He is reprising his role as Marvel baddie Loki in The Avengers (opposite Robert Downey Jr, Samuel L Jackson, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner and Chris Evans) before the forthcoming sequel, Thor 2.

"I grew up watching the bad guys. The best characters in Tim Burton's Batman and Die Hard are Jack Nicholson's Joker and Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber, so this year's a fulfilment of a long-held dream where I get to be the ultimate baddie in a big blockbuster," he says. "That's cool! I'm aware of the privilege of being in that position.

"Having said that, there was a day over the summer when my friend texted me inviting me to a barbecue.

"My response was, 'Just being the world's most evil super- villain. Joss Whedon wants me to be really feral and really dark, so I won't be able to make your barbecue, sorry'."

"I didn't have much of a summer but I had a really good time," he laughs.

Hiddleston, who is dating Wallander co-star Susannah Fielding, is also preparing to play Henry V in a BBC adaptation.

"I'm in a blessed and privileged position because all actors want to do is work – and I've been working a lot," he says.

War Horse is in cinemas tomorrow – see our review of the film below.