Benedict Cumberbatch refused to ask pal Tom Hiddleston about his former relationship with Taylor Swift during a recent interview for a magazine.

The Thor star sat down with his fellow Brit for an article for Interview magazine and was asked about his career, spirituality, and his humanitarian work.

But one subject Benedict would not quiz Tom on was his months-long relationship with the Shake It Off star, which ended earlier this month (Sep16).

"And 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," Benedict says. "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."

Tom thanks Benedict for not broaching the subject in the piece and the Sherlock star replies he is confident Tom would do the same for him.

In the interview, Tom opens up about his daily routine and how he deals with the pressures of his busy career by taking a daily run, which also helps to spur his creativity.

"You've got to do something, even if it's just to kick-start the day," he says. "I use music. And running. I find that, when I'm working, if I start the day with a run - outside, not in a gym, but just me out there in the elements, with only my own legs to propel me forward... It's something to do with just being in the world and getting out of my own head..."

"The thing about running is, if I run in the morning before work, I feel like I'm ahead of the day," he adds. "Whatever work I've done in terms of preparation or research or thinking about the scene or the character, it all kind of crystallises in that moment in the morning. And sometimes I have the best ideas then."