If there is one actor who seems truly destined to play Spider-Man, it is Tom Holland. From the brief glimpse of his version of Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, it felt like the true essence of the web crawler had been captured. He brings the innocence and energy of youth to the role like no one has before. Don’t take my word for it though, below is what some of the cast and crew have to say about Holland.
Director Jon Watts knew that Holland was the right man for the job when he first witnessed his audition scene, which was the bedroom scene we saw in Civil War with Robert Downey, Jr. and Marisa Tomei. “Tom Holland has a wide-eyed innocence, he seems awkward and stumbly, but you feel like there’s a rightness and deep morality at the heart of it. To see this kid totally hold his own and bring the scene to life was impressive,” says Watts. “It was just the three of them – Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland – doing this scene, and it felt so alive and exciting that it blew open the doors for the possibilities of where I could take the story in Spider-Man: Homecoming.”
Even Tony Stark was impressed with his acting chops, “Tom Holland is just the perfect man for the job,” says Downey. “He’s enthusiastic, bright and gifted, a very physically talented guy by virtue of his dance and acrobatic background. He has just the right combination of elements required to bring a new take on the character.”
The enthusiasm in his portrayal of Peter Parker is probably due to a longstanding desire to play the character as Holland himself describes, “Five years ago, I was at the Empire Awards in London and one of the interviewers asked me if I could be a superhero, who would I be,” recalls the actor. “I said, ‘In ten years, I’d like to be the Spider-Man after Andrew Garfield.’ I would never have guessed that it would have come true so quickly.”
Spider-Man: Homecoming opens next Friday, and from the clips we have seen so far, it looks to be the best Spider-Man film yet. Jon Watts’ ability to capture the viewpoint of adolescence (check out Cop Car) is sure to bring a unique vision to the film. He does this by using his own experiences to shape his films. “I loved riding my dirt bike,” says Watts. “That was the main thing in my life that I had to look forward to and I spent my whole day trying to maximize the amount of time that I would get to ride my dirt bike around. Now imagine if you had Spider-Man’s abilities – you would spend every moment of your day trying to maximize the amount of time you get to be Spider-Man, because it would be the best feeling in the world.”
Spider-Man: Homecoming opens next Friday, July 7th, and you can be sure we will be there! Tell us what you think of Tom Holland as Spider-Man!
