Read The Poem That Makes Tom Hiddleston Cry

Tom Hiddleston is best known for his supervillain character in the Thor films. But while he plays a tough guy on camera, he has a much softer side.

Tom Hiddleston
Tom Hiddleston
(Image credit: Rex)

Tom Hiddleston is best known for his supervillain character in the Thor films. But while he plays a tough guy on camera, he has a much softer side.

In new book Poems That Make Grown Men Cry, the 33-year-old English actor revealed that there's a particular poem that always makes him cry.

'I read this poem often. Once a month at least. In the madness and mayhem of modern life, where every man seems committed to an endless search for approval and esteem of his fellows and peers, no matter what the cost, this poem reminds me of a basic truth: that we are, as we are, "enough."' he says.

'Most of us are motivated deep down by a sense of insufficiency, a need to be better, stronger, faster; to work harder; to be more committed, more kind, more self-sufficient, more successful. We are driven be a sense that we are not, as we are, 'enough.' But this short poem by Derek Walcott is like a declaration of unconditional love. It's like the embrace of an old friend. We are each of us whole, perfectly imperfect, enough.' Love After Love The time will come when, with elation, you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror, and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat. You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored for another, who knows you by heart. Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life.

The book also features a selection of tear-jerkng poetic picks from Colin Firth, Daniel Radcliffe, Nick Cave and more.

There's something a bit sexy about seeing a really tough man shed a tear, don't you think? Poems That Make Grown Men Cry, edited by Anthony and Ben Holden, is published by Simon & Schuster and retails for £16.99.

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Ali Gray is an award-winning content director and digital strategist. Most recently she was the Director of Branded Content at Hearst, and helped to bridge the gap between the editorial and commercial worlds working across all Hearst brands, including ELLE, Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Harper's Bazaar. Prior to that she worked as an editor contributing to several brands such as The Telegraph, iVillage UK.