Tom Hiddleston says he feels 'more alive' since becoming a father and claims parenthood is 'the whole point' of life

Tom Hiddleston has said he feels his life's purpose has been to be a father. 

The actor, 45, is a proud father-of-two and reflected on the joy of having two young children in a new interview with Esquire. 

Tom and his wife-to-be Zawe Ashton, 42, welcomed their first child in October 2022, before welcoming a second tot in November 2025.

He told the publication: 'Becoming a father has completely changed my life. It’s changed the centre of meaning in my life.

'It’s the most important thing I’ll ever do, the most important role I’ll ever play. And to be there for them, alongside them. It’s… it’s… heaven.

'I don’t think I could have ever been prepared for how your heart expands, becoming a parent. 

'You just feel more of everything. You feel more deeply… it’s a love like no other…You’re just more alive. This [parenthood] is the best room in the house, and I didn’t know that. I was quite happy before, but this is the whole point of living here.'

Tom and Zawe first met in 2019 while starring together in the Harold Pinter play Betrayal in London’s West End before taking the production to Broadway.

They were romantically linked soon after, making their red carpet debut as a couple at the Tony Awards in September 2021.

In March 2022, it was reported that they were engaged after Zawe was spotted wearing a diamond ring at the BAFTAs.

Elsewhere in the interview, Tom spoke about his big break in landing the role of Loki in 2011’s Thor and the impact of global fame. 

The actor is set to appear in the biographical drama Tenzing, which will see him play New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary. 

He said: 'I had an opportunity to play a very complex role in a film at a scale I never had the chance to do before. I don’t think it’s too much to say that it has completely changed my life.

'Once you cross that bridge, you can’t re-cross it. Like climbing at high altitude in the mountains – thinking of Tenzing – you have to acclimatise because it’s an unusual experience. But I quickly became really aware of just trying to hold onto my ordinary self.

'Sometimes, there’s an energy that comes towards you, and it often can be idealising or in the reverse, and you think, "Well, hang on a second".

'Just to try and keep my feet on the ground and understand the experience just from my point of view, in a very ordinary way, that is a real work. It’s not a magic trick. 

'And actually, holding onto the honesty of what the work is actually keeps you very grounded when you’re a public person…I think I have experienced all weathers.'

Tom is set to be recognised at The Esquire Better Men Honours Dinner, which will take place on October 21 in London. 

The November/December issue of Esquire UK is on sale from October 14.