Tom Hiddleston Talks His Summer in the Spotlight

staff@people.com (Kara Warner)
Updated

It's been a wild summer for Tom Hiddleston.

In April, the English actor captured our attention with his role as former British soldier-turned undercover government spy in AMC's critically-acclaimed six-part series The Night Manager. The show went on to earn 12 Emmy nominations, which Hiddleston calls a genuine thrill.

"I’m so proud of The Night Manager and the work everybody did in it and to see it nominated for 12 [Emmys]," Hiddleston told PEOPLE at San Diego Comic-Con Saturday. "To see Hugh Laurie nominated and Olivia Coleman and [director] Susanne Bier, it’s really really thrilling. You never know when you make something when it is going to catch fire and people will receive it with the same passion in which it was made and it felt like that, so it's really exciting."

In June, Hiddleston and Taylor Swift surprised nearly everyone when news broke of a budding new romance, which has included romantic dates around the globe and meetings with both sets of parents.



Tom Hiddleston Talks His Summer in the Spotlight| San Diego Comic-Con, Taylor Swift, Tom Hiddleston
Tom Hiddleston Talks His Summer in the Spotlight| San Diego Comic-Con, Taylor Swift, Tom Hiddleston

And now this month, Hiddleston returned to his fan-loved role Loki for the beginning of production on Thor: Ragnarok in Australia, along with a San Diego Comic-Con appearance Saturday in support of his upcoming film, Kong: Skull Island.



"It’s amazing to be back, amazing," he says. "I've only shot for about a week but it’s so much fun, because I haven't played the character for three and a half years and the script is brilliant, [director] Taika Waititi ( What We Do In The Shadows) is brilliant. I've shot a couple of scenes and it’s just the best fun. It is like seeing an old friend again."

So how is Hiddleston handling all this new attention in several different areas?

Related Video: Tom Hiddleston on His New Relationship with Taylor Swift: 'It's Not a Publicity Stunt,' Says the Actor



"I don't know, it comes down to being authentic," he says. "Everything you do you have to make sure you truly believe in it and as long as you know that, it doesn't matter what anyone else says about it because the nature of being a public figure is that everyone will have an opinion about anything you do, and as long as you know why you’ve done something and you've committed to it with authenticity then you're okay.

Kong: Skull Island hits theaters March 10, 2017. Thor: Ragnarok opens Nov. 3, 2017.