Tom Hiddleston looks typically dashing in a plaid navy suit as he joins his The Night Manager nemesis Hugh Laurie for a New York Times event

By Dan Cain For Mailonline

Published: 20:04 EST, 11 April 2016 | Updated: 06:55 EST, 12 April 2016

They were opposing forces in the critically-acclaimed six-part spy thriller The Night Manager.

But Tom Hiddleston, 35, and Hugh Laurie, 56, put on a united front when they attended The New York Times Times Talks event in the Big Apple on Monday.

The two British actors were all smiles as they stood shoulder to shoulder on the red carpet at the Directors Guild of America Theater.

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Best of British: Tom Hiddleston, 35, and Hugh Laurie, 56, put on a united front when they attended The New York Times' Times Talks event in the Big Apple on Monday

Best of British: Tom Hiddleston, 35, and Hugh Laurie, 56, put on a united front when they attended The New York Times' Times Talks event in the Big Apple on Monday

Audiences swooned over Hiddleston in the John Le Carré adaptation, and the star looked suitably debonair for the special interview in a plaid navy suit with a buttoned down striped shirt.

He looked relaxed as he stood with his hands in his pockets and a subtle smile on his face. The Thor actor's well-coiffed hair was swept back and he completed his outfit with a pair of brown shoes and a matching belt.

Clean-shaven Laurie looked equally as comfortable prior to speaking with the New York Times' television editor Gilbert Cruz.

Best of British: The two actors were all smiles as they stood shoulder to shoulder on the red carpet at the Directors Guild of America Theater

Best of British: The two actors were all smiles as they stood shoulder to shoulder on the red carpet at the Directors Guild of America Theater

Spy thriller: Hiddleston's Jonathan Pine and Laurie's Richard Roper played opposing forces in the critically-acclaimed six-part spy thriller The Night Manager

Spy thriller: Hiddleston's Jonathan Pine and Laurie's Richard Roper played opposing forces in the critically-acclaimed six-part spy thriller The Night Manager

The House star wore a grey suit jacket with a navy shirt and dark trousers. He opted for a pair of dark brown suede shoes to finish off his ensemble.

Both were on fine form as they answered questions posed by Cruz in front of a live audience.

The charismatic duo were full of praise for Le Carré's work, with Laurie saying: 'As a teenager I worshipped those (novels)... it sort of defined my teenage reading really. 

'I was utterly entranced by this novel (The Night Manager). I thought it was the most beautifully romantic story.'

He joked that when he first read the novel he imagined himself playing Hiddleston's protagonist Jonathan Pine, rather than the arms dealer antagonist Richard Roper. 

Laid back: Both stars looked relaxed as they stood with their hands in their pockets and subtle smiles on their faces

Laid back: Both stars looked relaxed as they stood with their hands in their pockets and subtle smiles on their faces

And Hiddleston quipped: 'I think Hugh Laurie would have made a tremendous Jonathan Pine... I wish I'd seen that version.'

The hit television featured a very different ending to that of Le Carré's novel. 

But The Night Manager's most talked-about scene was by far the intimate hotel room moment shared by Jed Marshall (Elizabeth Debicki) and Pine.

The pair were seen giving into their weeks of flirting, having sex against the hotel room wall while Jed's boyfriend Roper was downstairs.

The fate of Pine and Roper was left open at the end of the series, with the latter being driven away by a gang of angry Cairo businessmen, leaving many fans hopeful for a sequel.

Dapper: Audiences swooned over Hiddleston in the John Le Carré adaptation, and the star looked suitably debonair for the special interview in a plaid navy suit with a buttoned down striped shirt

Dapper: Audiences swooned over Hiddleston in the John Le Carré adaptation, and the star looked suitably debonair for the special interview in a plaid navy suit with a buttoned down striped shirt

Although Le Carré has not written a follow-up novel, there were reportedly advanced talks with The Ink Factory, the production company run by his two sons, for another series based on the same characters.

However, Tom - who is now hotly tipped as the next James Bond - told The Mirror: 'As it stands, Pine exists for six hours in a mini series. The story feels complete.

'I know the rumours about it extending, but none of that is real.' 

The BBC's £20 million adaptation of his 1993 novel already featured many changes, including the setting, ending and the gender of Olivia Colman's character Angela Burr.

The hit series also featured the stunning Elizabeth Debicki as Jed Marshall, Tom Hollander as Major Lance Corkoran and David Harewood as Joel Steadman. 

Suave: The Thor actor's well-coiffed hair was swept back and he completed his outfit with a pair of brown shoes and a matching belt

Suave: The Thor actor's well-coiffed hair was swept back and he completed his outfit with a pair of brown shoes and a matching belt

 

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