After Hiddleston's Swift dumping, let the battle for top Tom commence

Clockwise from top left: Tom Hiddleston, Tom Hardy, Tom Hughes and Tom Sturridge 
Clockwise from top left: Tom Hiddleston, Tom Hardy, Tom Hughes and Tom Sturridge 

Six months ago, there was only one Tom in our lives. He was blonde, with a double first in classics from Cambridge, and an ambassador for UNICEF. And after his pants-down exceptional performance in the BBC’s runaway hit, The Night Manager, Tom Hiddleston was being tipped as the next Bond and, it seemed, could do no wrong. 

But then came Taylor Swift, a sodden tank top, accusations of a showmance and an equally public dumping. And suddenly, a new Tom was on the scene, jousting with his namesake for the title of King of Sunday night television. 

Tom Hughes, who plays Albert in ITV’s new drama, Victoria, is set to take centre stage this weekend as the royal romance begins and a nation swoons over his breeches.

The Night Manager's Hiddleston and Talyor Swift in happier times. 
The Night Manager's Hiddleston and Talyor Swift in happier times.  Credit: Newspix/REX/Shutterstock​

But Hiddleston and Hughes aren’t the only Toms you need to know about. Never has the red carpet been so awash with 30-something British actors who share the same name as a satellite navigation system. Cruise and Hanks are surely quaking in their boots. But where have they come from? Here’s what you need to know about the cream of the Tom crop. 

Tom Hughes

Age: 30

Giving Aiden Turner's Poldark a run for his money on a Sunday night, it's Tom Hughes
Giving Aiden Turner's Poldark a run for his money on a Sunday night, it's Tom Hughes Credit: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock

Widely hailed as the next big thing, Hughes is a Burberry model with cut glass features and a broad West Country accent that could warm a fiord. He also, winningly, professed not to recognise the world-famous photographer Mario Testino at his first shoot with Emma Watson for the British label.

After Rada, Hughes won roles in Ricky Gervais’s Cemetery Junction, Silk, Marple and has been likened to Benedict Cumberbatch for his role as a spy in BBC2’s 2014 Cold War series The Game.

Hughes in Victoria as Prince Albert who he stars in alongside Jenna Coleman
Hughes in Victoria as Prince Albert who he stars in alongside Jenna Coleman Credit: ITV

Now the Cheshire-born lad has come-of-age in Victoria as the reluctant, ruminating and frequently silent Prince Albert. But who needs sound when you can watch him astride a horse, waltzing or tinkling on piano keys? 

Known for: A Mick Jagger pout

Most likely to be found: Playing the guitar (he used to be in an indie band called Quaintways)

Relationship status: Definitely maybe dating Victoria co-star Jenna Coleman, who he also acted alongside in Dancing on the Edge.

 

Tom Hardy

Age: 39

Tom Hardy's performance in The Warrior made Tom Hiddleston cry 
Tom Hardy's performance in The Warrior made Tom Hiddleston cry  Credit: Getty Images

Directors have at times called the actor “unpredictable” and “dangerous” with the same awe reserved for wild animals. Inevitably cast as a hard man, he’s had stand out roles in RocknRolla, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Inception, Legend (where he played both Kray twins), The Revenant, BBC2’s hit series Peaky Blinders and Mad Max: Fury Road.

He also reduced another of the Toms, Hiddleston, to a gibbering wreck. Hiddleston once said: “He is doing things no British actor has ever done. His performance in Warrior was visceral, pure and muscular, and it made me cry.”

Legend: Hardy playing the Kray twins
Legend: Hardy playing the Kray twins

The epitome of a bad boy done good, Hardy is now a committed father who spends his time petting his two rescue dogs and campaigning for PETA. Also recognisable by his tattoos, one of which is his agent’s name carved into his left arm – he told her if she got him to Hollywood he’d have it done.  

Known for: Being hard

Most likely to be found: Gruffly speaking to his dogs in that heart-stopping rasp he does

Relationship status: Married to actress Charlotte Riley. They met on the set of ITV’s Wuthering Heights in 2009 – she was the Cathy to his Heathcliff.

 

Tom Sturridge 

Age: 30

Tom - “I’m not afraid of not working” - Sturridge 
Tom - “I’m not afraid of not working” - Sturridge  Credit:  Latour/Variety/REX/Shutterstock

Dark and rogueishly handsome, with piercing blue eyes, Sturridge’s star is rising. Son of the actor Phoebe Nicholls and director Charles Sturridge, he was educated at the Harrodian School - where he met his best friend, Robert Pattinson - but dropped out before A-levels.

At 18, he starred in Being Julia and has since won praise and prizes for stage and screen roles including The Boat that Rocked, Punk Rock, On The Road and American Buffalo. He played Henry VI in the BBC’s The Hollow Crown and was Sergeant Troy to Carey Mulligan’s Bathsheba in Far From The Madding Crowd. “I choose carefully,” he has said. “I’m not afraid of not working.”

Known for: Partial to a beard and porkpie hat

Most likely to be found: Writing his journal. “I write constantly, about everything,” he says.

Relationship status: He has a four-year-old daughter from a previous relationship with Sienna Miller. 

Tom Riley

Age: 35

Tom Riley is engaged to the actress Lizzy Caplan from Masters of Sex
Tom Riley is engaged to the actress Lizzy Caplan from Masters of Sex Credit: BRUNO/SIPA/REX/Shutterstock

Get ready to see a lot more of this gently-stubbled Tom. He’s currently in Amazon’s The Collection, playing one half of a Parisian fashion house brother-partnership, stars as the lead in next month’s Starfish, a real-life story about a British man who lost his arms and legs to sepsis, and heads up ITV’s upcoming detective drama Dark Heart.

You’ll know him from Da Vinci’s Demons (he played the never not open-shirted Leonardo), Monroe and ITV’s Lost in Austen. Originally from Maidstone in Kent, the well-spoken actor first trod the boards aged five and poses a double threat, acting and producing.

He once described himself as not “the conventional handsome Hollywood leading man” but with LA teeth and carefully cultivated chest hair, that doesn’t ring quite true.

Known for: Overachieving: he set up a theatre company before starting drama school

Most likely to be found: Jumping onto table tops, from standing, like Tigger – a preferred party trick

Relationship status: Engaged to the actress Lizzy Caplan from Masters of Sex.

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