I struggle with this so much because NO ONE in my family understands this about me. They see me as single and childless and therefore able to drop everything at a moments notice to do something with them. They donât understand that leaving my house is difficult for me most days and I need to plan my outings to make sure I have plenty of time to psyche myself up for them and then have time to decompress afterwards, otherwise I start getting depressed. I try to talk to them about it and they either donât get it or just donât care. Some days I wish I had a significant other or a kid just so I could have legitimate reason not to go places with people. Itâs such a struggle and such a juggling act of âhave I turned down this person lately?â I need a date book or something just to keep track.
Tom doing some VERY, very impressive ballet spins (pirouettes and fouettes). And he is doing them in fucking belted jeans! He could have worn something more comfy and stretchy for the occasion, lol. Anyway, so impressive that after all these years he still nails them so well, even in low-rise jeans and socksâŠâŠ
okay not exactly the entire song... I couldnât find any full recording of his performance for this song so I had to make do with the short audio clips that I have and compile them together with a backing track.Â
So please understand if the singing gets cut off suddenly; itâs because I do not have the entire recording.
âI literally had a conversation with [Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige only 20 minutes ago. Maybe Iâve just done a big, old spoiler, but itâs out there now. Itâs cool. I like the idea that Peter Parker has been in the universe since the beginning.â - Tom Holland, 2017
It was early morning more than two months ago when this writer met the new Spider-Man.
But before then, letâs get to meet and know our new superhero. On the day we sat for our roundtable interview, Tom has not turned 21 yet (his birthday is on June 1st) and he proved to be quite a charmer like Peter Parker himself. During the interview, he revealed what one thing he did to get the part: He lied about his height. Tom, who is 5â8â, added two inches to his height when he sent in his initial audition reel. âBasically, you have to do a thing called an Ident, which is where you sent in a self-tape from a script that they sent you,â he playfully recalled. âBut before that, you have to give a brief summary of who you are and say how tall you are. Every actor lies so I told them I am five foot ten!â
Of course, he got the part because he deserved it. For his initial reel, after introducing himself, he did several back flips to showcase his acrobatic talent. Tom is a trained actor and dancer who made his theater debut in Billy Elliot the Musical. In 2012, his turn as the son of Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor in the terrific disaster drama The Impossible earned him wide acclaim and various awards. He has starred opposite Hollywood heavyweights Tom Hardy and Chris Hemsworth before he got the biggest role in his young career. A plum role that took him five months to get, seven auditions, two screen tests and a not-so-memorable first encounter with the iconic Spider-Man suit.
âI was cast in Civil Wars very late and basically, they decided to put me in my stunt doubleâs suit, who they had already been shooting with, and he was much bigger than I was!â he recalled. âSo the first time I put it on, it was really like saggy and, kind of, a sad-looking Spider-Man. It wasnât quite heroic as I would have hoped but when we got to making my movie, when we put the real suit on, it was a pretty tremendous experience.â
Earlier, he described to us his experience during the casting process.
âThe casting process was really, really grueling. It was tough because it started off as a pipe dream. And then it started becoming a reality quite quickly and it suddenly became something that could possibly happen. When I realized that I was down to maybe the last 50, I became obsessed with Spider-Man like it was my life! I was like âThis was my role, I am gonna get it, I am gonna do everything in my power to get this roleâ and I searched the Internet every day, day in and day out, to find news about the casting.â
âI think I did seven auditions in total,â he added. âI did two screen tests and after my second screen test, I was told by my agents that I will find out the next day whether I got it or I hadnât got it â and it was like a month and a half later when I found out that I got the part so it was really stressful. I was convinced that I didnât get it but it was definitely a fun experience.â
In those five months, Tom was still able to complete three other movies! Now, if that isnât heroic enough maybe his being named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest person to ever play a Marvel superhero will convince you. Â
And for someone who plays a superhero with superpowers derived from hybrid spiders, itâs somewhat ironic that he would be deathly scared of spiders himself. âI hate spiders! I hate spiders so much! When we moved to Atlanta, we were like, âWe should get a spider and call it Peter.â And we went to the pet shop and I left within five minutes. Thereâs no way I am living with a tarantula in my house!â
Instead of having a pet spider, Tom and his best friend found a Tortoise in their garden and named him Peter.
Tom could be very animated and funny when he is recalling stories. When asked whatâs the scariest stunt he ever did, he told us a very funny story that sent all of us laughing in the room.
âShouldnât have been scary but because of the circumstances that we did it in, it was quite scary,â he began. âBasically, I have been wrapped and I went back to my trailer. I took my costume off, I put my clothes on and my best friend Harrison was there as my assistant so he had bought me two burgers and chips and I stuffed my face. I was so hungry!â
âAnd then,â he continued, âas I was leaving my trailer to go home, they were like, âOh no, we made a mistake. We need you back on set,â and I am like, âOh, donât worry about it, itâs fine, itâs cool.â And then I get to the set and I was told, âWe are gonna do this stunt with you where you are gonna nosedive off this wall.â And I am like, âHuh! I just ate like a mountain of food!â So I put this harness on, which is called a corset harness, which when tightened up, it really tightens up just around your midsection, which is the worst thing possible right now, you know, and basically, I had to sit on the edge of the Washington Monument and hold on to the left shaft and then, theyâd go â3âŠ2âŠ1âŠâ and theyâd yank me forward and I would dive down 30 feet and they would catch me on wiresâŠâ
He paused then he continued, âUmm, the stunt was safe. It was 100-percent safe. There was nothing that could have gone wrong with the stunt but the only thing that didnât feel safe was that if you throw up in that suit, it will cover all your mouth and you wouldnât be able to (breathe). I think you would drown, right? So I was so scared that I was gonna throw up in my mask and luckily enough I didnât.â
While filming the movie, rumors circulated that Tom deliberately avoided seeking advice from Tobey and Andrew. He belied this during the interview and praised the two actors for what they have done to the character before.
âIt was a really surreal experience for me,â he said, recalling the first time he met Andrew in person at the BAFTAs several days before our interview. âI am someone who looks up to his predecessors and he, kind of, passed on the torch. He said to me how happy he was for me and how excited he was for the movie and I expressed how excited I was with what he was doing.â
Asked if he was ready to handle the tremendous fame that would come his way when Spider-Man: Homecoming opens in theaters beginning next month, he surprised us with a thoughtful reply.
âItâs not one of those things you can really prepare for. I am just very lucky to have a very good strong family. I have a very good strong group of friends who would be the first to tell me that I am being a d*ck. Itâs very easy in this industry, specially here in Hollywood, to get caught up with what I call âYesâ people, people who are always like, âYou are amazing, youâre this. Youâre so fantastic, we love you, we love you!â My parents saw one of my films the other day and my dad was like, âEhhh⊠That was just alright.â Thanks Dad! But you know, thatâs good to have. Thatâs a real critic. That gives me the motivation to be like, âThe next thing I do, youâre gonna love.â So, itâs very good for me and I am very lucky and the more and more I go through this process, the more and more valuable I realize my friends and family are.â
Of course, no interview with actors portraying superheroes would be complete without the requisite question: âIf you can have a superpower, what will it be?â
Tom replied with a rambling answer. First, he said heâd like to time travel or teleport or control time. Then he said he also would like to control water and make people explode because our bodies are made up mostly of water anyways.
This writer, sensing another funny anecdote, asked Tom how many times has he been asked the same question before and he instantly replied, âSo many times!â And how many times has he answered differently? âOh, it changes all the time,â he said laughing. âIt depends on what I am doing. If I am stuck in traffic, Iâd fâing teleport.â
But what if he had the power to grant superpowers to 15 year olds, what would it be?
âConfidence,â he replied in an almost whisper-like tone. âIf you give everyone confidence in themselves and believe in who they are, then youâd have the most powerful generation ever. A lack of confidence is one of the biggest hindrances ever. Iâve been through it and once you realize that you only have to impress yourself and the people that are close to you, then you can conquer the world and do whatever you want.â
Aww, it's a lovely gesture from Tom and Jacob but I just cant help noticing that the only two people in this photo that can't do a proper Asian squat are the only ones 'squatting' - bet everyone else behind them can put their heels down XDD
To make up for the disappointment of the missing rumored trailer, I decided to do some hunting for dancing!Tom. This Billy Elliot Live Musical included all the other older Billys from previous years but it was surprisingly easy to spot those curly hair.
First Entry:
@6:30 Tom cartwheels from stage right
@6:33 Lands and continues dance routine at left side of the stage, back row.
@6:41 Finishes with front flip and exits stage leftÂ
Second Entry:
@6:48 Tom backflips in from stage left and shifts to second row
@7:02 Finishes and exits stage left
Third Entry (tap-dancing):
@8:37 Tom is the first dancer to enter from stage right
@8:40 Ends up as the second dancer from the left of the third row
@9:04 Final pose at left side of the stage (the poor kid with this legs lifted up)
Curtain Call
@9:30 10th person from the left
@9:33 Close up
Tom was absolutely adorable in this, even though he was in the background most of the time, I could still see that silly grin on his face. Bet it was loads of fun. Need more dancing!Tom in my life. By the way, do catch this musical if you have yet to. And also, did I miss out any shots?
Dogs are the literal best and let me tell you why.
When my parents are out of town, my pup Remmy sleeps downstairs with me. I donât mind because the basement is chilly sometimes and heâs a fuzzy little space heater. But he always does this weird thing and I didnât figure out why until last night.
Iâm a stomach-sleeper, while the rest of my family are back-sleepers. So Remmy has taken up this very different behavior with me (my family says he doesnât do it with them). It always takes me a while to settle down, but when I do, Remmy takes his head off of his paws and rests it square in the center of my back.
So Iâm thinking, âWhatâs the point of that? It canât be comfortable. It cranes his neck in a funny way, and besides, every time I breathe his head goes up and down. Thatâs a weird thing.â So I formulate a hypothesis, and test it.
Last night, I got comfortable, Remmy put his head on my back, I waited a while, then I held my breath. It took him a while to react, but when he did, he fuckin lost it. He started whining and yipping, and repeatedly licking my face and hands. And I was like oh my god.
Conclusion: my dog noticed that I slept in a way that was different from the rest of my family, thought âthat kid is gonna dieâ and made sure that I never stopped breathing in the middle of the night.
Dogs are fuckin smart as hell. What a wonderful animal.
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