Tom Holland didn't hit the Hollywood scene so much as he smashed into it at speed — kind
of like a meteor with charisma.
But for all the sparkle of his ride to the top, there's still a lot we don't know about
the actor.
Here’s the real story behind Marvel’s youngest leading light.
Apparently, Tom Holland has been dancing since he was in diapers.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he recalled that he used to dance to a Janet
Jackson song that his mother would play when he was a baby.
This ended up prompting her to enroll him in a weekly dance class for children, which
Holland took to immediately — throwing himself into everything from ballet to hip-hop with
feverish intensity.
And although this was the first step on the road to becoming one of the world’s most
famous actors, it was also something schoolyard bullies were quick to jump on at the time.
Luckily, as he told People Magazine:
“You couldn't hit me hard enough to stop me from doing it."
It was this relentless pursuit of his passion that pushed him to audition for the titular
role in the West End production of Billy Elliot, got him doing backflips in his audition tapes
for Marvel, and ultimately gave him real life experience as an underdog — something he
now credits as a key inspiration in his performance as Peter Parker.
Holland told People Magazine:
"I, like Peter, accepted I wasn't the cool kid at school, and just found my group of
friends and got on with it."
You wouldn't guess it from the way he seems to revere every new experience fame brings
him, but Tom isn’t the first famous Holland— nor is he the only one who's worked in the
creative arts.
His father Dominic is a comedian, broadcaster, and author, while his mother Nicola Elizabeth
is a photographer.
Despite his early exposure to the world of performance and his enrollment in that weekly
dance class, Tom's ascent has been described by his father as a fluke.
“It’s a total fluke what’s happened to my son Tom.
a real fluke.”
“Is it a fluke though?”
Yeah, it has been a fluke because it’s been no stage school no drama lessons.”
When Tom's agent proposed putting together an audition tape for Marvel, the family was
roundly skeptical but now that the impossible has happened, the Hollands credit this unlikely
trajectory as the source of Tom's down-to-earth nature.
There are few superhero costumes quite as iconic as Spider-Man’s.
That's one of the reasons it’s barely changed since its introduction in 1962 — from the
bold color scheme to the dramatically flared eyes, it was an instant classic from the moment
it debuted.
Putting on that suit has got to be pretty daunting for any newcomer to the role.
“What the hell was that what just happened?
“...You jumped off a sign and fell on your face.”
But it's not just a figurative burden it's an entirely literal one, too.
In an interview with ShortList, Holland revealed that it never occured to the crew that he'd
need a way to drink in the suit, a problem which demanded a complex solution: a hole
is drilled in the eye of the mask, a tube is fed through, and an assistant squeezes
water into Holland's mouth.
But the consequences of all that guzzling are just as problematic.
To answer nature's call, Holland must strip down to his regulation underwear — which
is nothing more than a thong — slap on a bathrobe, and book it to the nearest bathroom
and back as fast as he can.
However, he’s quick to point out that this hardship is outweighed by the privilege of
getting to bring the iconic web-slinger to life.
But when you trot off to see him do his thing in Avengers: Endgame, just remember: the Spider-Man
you’re watching probably just took a sip through the world's most professional Crazy
Straw.
Everyone knows that Holland is a pretty goofy guy.
He’s renowned for his playfulness with Marvel movie spoilers, he's always ready to slap
on some vinyl shorts and perform Rihanna's "Umbrella" with the best of them, and he can
even find the humor in having to drink through a straw that someone else operates for him.
But it's not all fun and games — Holland also has some serious ambitions too.
“Alright, kid.
You’re an Avenger now.”
He told The Hollywood Reporter:
"The 20-year goal is to be a film director.
The 15-year goal is to win an Oscar.
The five-year goal is to just keep enjoying myself."
He also went on to detail his acting role models, such as Leonardo di Caprio, Jake Gyllenhaal
and Meryl Streep.
One thing is clear above all else: Holland wants to be big, he's ready to work for it,
and he has a plan as to just how he's going to accomplish it.
Holland didn’t expect to ever reach the peaks of fame he's already conquered, let
alone hit them in his early twenties.
But it really can't be emphasized enough that up until Captain America: Civil War, in which
Holland made his debut as Spider-Man, he really thought he'd go on living the life he'd always
led.
Interviews done to promote The Impossible reveal a 16-year-old Holland still certain
he's going to go back home to Kingston and finish up high school — while continuing
to pursue his dreams on the side.
Looking back, it’s clear that since Billy Elliot, Holland has been on a speeding train
to blockbuster success.
After every new production and role, he appears to have thought that things were going to
go back to normal… except they never really did.
It's only in recent interviews that Holland seems to have become someone who truly understands
that his life as he knew it is gone and that fame is his new normal.
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