David Becker/Getty ImagesHiddleston. Tom Hiddleston.
For those of you who didn't fall for his odd allure as Loki in Thor and The Avengers, or didn't crush on him as F. Scott Fitzgerald in Midnight in Paris, or weren't uncomfortably drawn to him in Crimson Peak—or heaven forbid, were not completely convinced that he could play 007 after watching him spy, lie, save the day and bed the girl(s) in The Night Manager—take note.
This is Taylor Swift's new man (or at least her new sitting-on-a-rock-and-kissing buddy), and no matter what he does next, or how long it lasts... He's in the pantheon. Songs will be written about him.
And while a quick poll of our office will have you wondering if it's actually Hiddleston who stars in Sherlock, considering the outsized gush factor, he's not the most obvious heartthrob, even as the Redmaynes and the Cumberbatches of the world take over.
But there's a reason why, despite being rumored for the part, he doesn't need to play James Bond.
He already is James Bond! Here's the proof:
1. He's an International Man of Mystery: British, check. Smolder, check! And mate. While we've started to learn more about him and we're getting to see snippets of his cheeky sense of humor as he makes the rounds promoting bigger and bigger roles, who knew what this guy was really about? Just a mysterious Brit, that one.
2. He Can Take on Bigger Guys and Win: With nothing but hair, a fancy waistcoat and quirky cleverness, he completely and utterly stole every scene in Thor and Thor: The Dark World right out from under Chris Hemsworth. And then right out from under all of the Avengers—even Iron Man! Marvel didn't intend for that to happen, did it?
3. He's a Swinging Bachelor: It's hard to say how much swinging he actually does, but at 35 Hiddleston has remained dreamily available. At least officially. He dated Wallander co-star (um, who else is running home to Netflix Wallander right this second) Susannah Fielding for a few years, reportedly splitting up in 2011. Since then he's been the subject of romantic speculation regarding Thor co-star Kat Dennings (just friends) and Crimson Peak sister-with-benefits Jessica Chastain (just friends) and Sherlock actress Lara Pulver (one dinner). Among others.
Asked why he's so hard to pin down (not in so many words, but same point), he told the Daily Mail in 2012, "Acting just demands everything and if you don't give it everything, there will be someone behind you who will."
4. He Drives Fast: At least he does when he's the star in the reasonably priced car on Top Gear! And do you think a little rain fazed the dauntless star one bit?
Well, maybe a little. Even James Bond hates taking his Aston Martin out in the rain.
5. Two Words: Cheek bones.
6. He Was Hiding in Plain Sight: As it turned out, he had us all fooled, taking on the roles of vengeful Norse gods and struggling poor inventors who have weird relationships with their sisters, and otherwise leading us to believe that to crush on him was to have an acquired taste. We knew he could act, as Loki, his role as Henry V in The Hollow Crown and his turn as tragic all-American country star Hank Williams in I Saw the Light.
But it turns out he was MI6 material all along, as seen in his role in the limited series adaptation of John Le Carré's The Night Manager as a quietly debonair war veteran with a steely personal honor code who ingratiates himself into an arms dealer's inner circle in order to bring him down and exact a little personal revenge. Spytastic.
7. He Got the Girl: As all James Bond movies end, so does ours with a reflection on the revelation that Tom Hiddleston was photographed kissing newly single Taylor Swift—a tall blond with legs for days who is fashionable, fierce and famously hard to pin down.
Sounds like a Bond Girl to us.