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Benedict Cumberbatch helps Tom Hiddleston sidestep T. Swift questions like a gentleman

Jaleesa M. Jones
USA TODAY
Presenting Tom "Hiddleslick."

A gentleman should never kiss and tell.

But when that gentleman is The Night Manager star and Loki actor Tom Hiddleston — one-half of the supernova formerly known as "Hiddleswift" — it can be difficult to keep to that maxim.

That’s where having mates like Benedict Cumberbatch comes in handy. The British stars recently sat down for the October issue of Interview and discussed everything under the sun without ever looking the issue of Hiddleston’s recent split from Taylor Swift directly in the eye.

"There's another weight of us being in the public eye, which is this presumption that, because your work and your promotion work is very public, your private life should be, too," Cumberbatch said. "And, without getting into a huge debate, I just want to say that I'm not going to ask questions about my friend's personal life just because there are unsolicited photographs of him and a certain someone, in a relationship or together.”

"I'm not going to get into that. So that door is closed, dear reader."

"Thank you," Hiddleston replied.

The actor, who will reprise his role as Loki in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok, went on to discuss his biggest fears, which do not include his private affairs being plastered in The Sun, but instead revolve around regret and the prospect of burning out.

"It's interesting," he told Cumberbatch. "I read this extraordinary article about a book, many years ago, by an Australian nurse who is a specialist in palliative care. It was her job to help people on their way out, to ease their pain. So she spent a lot of time with people in their last days and weeks. And she felt so moved by the accumulated experience, because she heard people say such similar things. Weirdly enough, at the top of the list was, 'I wish I hadn't worked so hard.'"