Tom Hiddleston "nearly wept, laughed and cried," when offered the starring role in 'War Horse'.

The 31-year-old actor was shocked when director Steven Spielberg called asking to meet him about his World War I epic, and found himself even more taken aback when he was offered the role straight away.

He explained to The Independent newspaper: "I remember going home and thinking 'What is happening to my life? How did I get here? I'm about to meet one of my heroes! Don't f**k it up!'

"[When he then offered me the part] I nearly whooped, wept, laughed and cried."

Tom's profile has risen fast, with him appearing in 'The Deep Blue Sea', 'Unrelated' and then as villain Loki in 'Thor', which led on to a tie-in part in 'The Avengers', in which he got to meet some of the biggest stars in Hollywood - although he found it "bizarre" to see them in costume.

He added: "There was one day when, as Loki, I was sat on some Steps, staring at the Avengers in front of me. It would be quite odd just to look at a grouping that involves Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Samuel L Jackson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and Chris Hemsworth.

"But the fact that they were dressed in the most outlandish hero costumes was bizarre! And I thought to myself, 'This is the dizzy heights.'"