Tom Hiddleston always played the bad guy when he was younger.

The 32-year-old actor does the voice over for pirate James in the new animated movie 'Tinker Bell And The Pirate Fairy', and he admits when he was a child he'd always prefer to play the villain in performances.

He explained: ''During the school summer holidays, my sisters and my cousins would write plays. And at the end of the summer, we'd perform them for our parents. That's when I started acting.

''My sisters and my eldest cousin, Zoe, would write the play. My cousin Matt would make the stage ... And I would always play the bad guy.''

The hunky star insists it's hard work doing a voice over for an animated character because you are forced to convey emotion through the use of your vocals.

He explained: ''I love voice work because you're stripped of some of your tools. You're stripped of your body and you're stripped of your eyes, which tell so much story when you're doing live-action work. With voice acting, your voice has to tell all of the story, which means you have to work harder but in the most exciting way.''

The movie follows the adventures of Zarina (voice of Christina Hendricks) as she leaves Pixie Hollow and joins forces with the scheming pirates of Skull Rock.

Tinker Bell (voice of Mae Whitman) and her friends go on an adventure to find Zarina but come face-to-face with the band of pirates led by James (Hiddleston), who'll soon be known as Captain Hook.

'Tinker Bell And The Pirate Fairy' is set for release on February 14.