Loki in love? Taylor Swift has found her next suitor in Tom Hiddleston. In photos published in British newspaper The Sun, the pair were caught k-i-s-s-i-n-g near her abode in Rhode Island on Tuesday, June 14, just weeks after her split from Scottish DJ Calvin Harris.
The singer’s new budding romance quickly ignited a frenzy on social media. Harris, meanwhile, unfollowed Swift and her brother, Austin, on Twitter, and Swift deleted most photos of Harris from her Instagram account.
As previously reported, Hiddleston, 35, and Swift, 26, first hit it off — and had a dance-off! — at the Met Gala in NYC on May 2, while the pop superstar was still dating Harris.
Here, Us Weekly rounds up five things you may not know about the newest man in Swift’s life:
1. He Wanted to Be Indiana Jones
Hiddleston always loved big-screen heroes — and villains. The London-born star often pretended to be Harrison Ford’s famous archaeologist character. “I spent my childhood running around my parents’ living room pretending to be Harrison Ford on a horse, wearing a hat, with the Indiana Jones theme tune playing in the background,” he told the Daily Mail in May. He added,”When I was a teenager, I loved watching Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber in Die Hard or Jack Nicholson as the Joker in Batman.”
Hiddleston’s mom, Diana, is a former stage manager and his dad, James, is a scientist. His younger sister, Emma Hiddleston, is an actress, while his older sister, Sarah Hiddleston, is a journalist.
2. He Went to School With Prince William
Royal bros! Hiddleston attended the boarding school Eton College with the Duke of Cambridge — and fellow actor Eddie Redmayne. Hiddleston and Prince William would later meet again during the actor’s War Horse premiere in London in 2012.
“I see him sometimes at film premieres, which is nice,” Hiddleston told the Daily Mail in May. “Eddie and I are very good friends still. We’ve actually been fellow actors for 20 years now.”
3. He Is Best Known for Playing Marvel Villain Loki
The hunky actor has a dark side — on screen. He’s appeared in several of the Avengers movies, including Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012) and Thor: The Dark World (2013). He will next reprise the role in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok.
“The reason I’ve chosen the projects I’ve chosen is to prove to myself and other people that I’m more than that,” Hiddleston told The Guardian in October 2015. “Perhaps the reason I do what I do is to prove that I’m not who you think I am. And I think part of the pleasure I get from acting is in defying expectations: my own and everyone else’s.”
Some of Hiddleston’s other credits include Midnight in Paris, The Deep Blue Sea and Crimson Peak. Last month, he shut down rumors that he will be taking over the James Bond role for Daniel Craig. “It’s difficult, because everyone has very strong opinions about Bond, and who should play him,” he told the Daily Mail in May. “My name is just an idea in people’s minds, yet it’s becoming overwhelming. I have no power to stop it, but I wish I could convince everyone that the whole thing is news to me.”
Hiddleston continued to talk about the buzz last week. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, everybody. I don’t think that announcement is coming,” he said during Philadelphia’s Wizard World Comic Con. “I am very gratified to hear the enthusiasm. There’s not much I can say that I haven’t already said — your guess is as good as mine, to be honest.”
4. He’s Dated a High-Profile Woman Before
Superhero romance! Us Weekly exclusively revealed in May 2015 that Hiddleston was dating his Avengers costar Elizabeth Olsen. “They have been hooking up,” an insider told Us at the time. “It’s casual.” Two months later, the pair went public with their romance at Bradley Cooper’s West End production of The Elephant Man.
“They’ve been talking constantly. It’s been good for the both of them, they really care for each other,” a second source noted. “Neither of them are looking to jump into a large commitment, but it’s getting more serious.” Hiddleston was previously linked to actress Susannah Fielding and record executive Jane Arthy.
5. He Has Incredible Dance Moves
Enchanted by his skills? As previously reported, Hiddleston and Swift had a ball together at the Met Gala’s afterparty at the Boom Boom Room in NYC on May 2. The flirty encounter was captured on camera by jeweler and Valentino brand ambassador Carlos Souza.
“I love dancing. Who doesn’t? It’s a weird one [that it went viral]. I haven’t actually danced for a long time, but I happened to be dancing at the Met Gala because it was a party,” Hiddleston later explained to the Associated Press on May 5. “I was [at] a table with Taylor Swift, and The Weeknd was playing, and she said, ‘The thing about these parties is nobody gets up to dance.’ She, as a musician, was like, ‘We’ve got to dance for The Weeknd.’ So we got up and danced.”