Tom Hiddleston finds female attention ''alarming''.

The 31-year-old British actor was crowned the 'Sexiest Movie Star Alive' in a magazine poll in January, beating Robert Pattinson and Ryan Gosling to the desirable title.

However, the Hollywood star is baffled by his sex symbol status and is always surprised when women flirt with him.

Speaking on UK TV show 'This Morning', he said: ''With sexiest, it's a subjective thing. It's alarming when attention comes your way.''

Hiddleston believes women may have voted for him because they are attracted to his evil alter ego Loki from 'Thor', 'Avengers Assemble' and the upcoming 'Thor: The Dark World'.

He mused: ''It might be when I die my hair black, and wear white make-up, leather and metal, there's a particular vibe going on there.''

The' War Horse' star is now one of the world's most famous men and he is keen to use his profile in a positive way by raising awareness of children living in starvation around the world.

Tom has teamed up with UNICEF and is taking part in a challenge called 'Living Below The Line', which requires him to live off a measly budget of just £1 a day for five days.

He said: ''The challenge is to subsist on £1 a day for food and drink so obviously I'm not living in extreme poverty. It's really simply to raise awareness and compassion for those one billion children and their mothers and fathers who live through that every day of their lives.''