Tom Holland is famous for portraying Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but there are intriguing details about the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” actor that fans may be unaware of, such as his first kiss happening backstage at “Billy Elliot: The Musical.”
As a child, Holland faced bullying for his ballet lessons.
In interviews, Holland mentioned he was really into a Janet Jackson song as a baby, which led his mom to sign him up for dance classes at Nifty Feet in the UK. At one point, a scout noticed him at a show but said he was too small for the role of Billy Elliott in a theater production of “Billy Elliot: The Musical.” So, he trained hard for two years and eventually got the part where he learned ballet as part of his preparation. He shared with Zendaya that practicing ballet at his all-boys school wasn’t considered cool, but dealing with such comments toughened him up, and he’s grateful for the training as it’s been valuable for his career.
Holland’s First Kiss Backstage at “Billy Elliot”
In September 2008, at 12 years old, Tom Holland made his debut as the main character at a theater in London. During a 2017 interview, he shared that his first kiss occurred during this time. His friend dared him to kiss one of the girls in the play who played Debbie. Holland revealed that it was a brief but magical kiss, lasting only three seconds.
His Top Picks from the MCU
In a 2019 interview with Comicstorian, Holland shared his favorite Marvel films. He loves “Iron Man” from 2008, starring Robert Downey Jr., and believes it’s one of the best superhero movies ever, saying no one should play Tony Stark after Downey Jr.’s portrayal. “Thor: Ragnarok” from 2017, directed by Taika Waititi, is another favorite for its humor, colorful visuals, and music. “Avengers: Endgame,” released in 2019, was a grand culmination of the Marvel series, earning over $1 billion at the box office.
Years ago, his mom sent him to carpentry school as a backup plan.
Holland once got overconfident after a movie role and felt he didn’t need to audition. This led to a tough time in his career. He was in a weird age group where he wasn’t a child but not quite a teenager. So, his mom sent him to carpentry school in Wales. He shared a room there for eight weeks. While he didn’t finish the course, he’s good at crafting thanks to his carpenter family background. He even built things like a kitchen table and a cabinet.
His worst job was washing pots in a pub.
“It wasn’t that bad,” he said in a 2017 interview with Yahoo Movies. “I was so used to being on movie sets that I thought, ‘Ugh, this isn’t great.'”
He has a crush on Marvel costar Elizabeth Olsen.
Holland shared his crush during a 2017 interview with British GQ. When asked which Marvel character he’d choose as a love interest for Spider-Man, he replied, “I think Scarlet Witch is really attractive, you know. Elizabeth Olsen is super attractive and very nice. She was really kind to me at the premiere.”
His all-time favorite movie is “Primal Fear,” which was released in 1996.
Holland shared this interesting tidbit in an interview with Yahoo Movies. “Primal Fear” is a thriller movie based on a book by William Diehl, starring Richard Gere as a defense lawyer and Edward Norton as a teenager accused of murdering an archbishop. Norton received a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for his role. In a 2018 interview with BuzzFeed, Holland also mentioned that he enjoys the movie “My Cousin Vinny,” which starred Joe Pesci and his “Spider-Man” costar Marisa Tomei.
Holland took a blue screen from the “Spider-Man: Far From Home” set and repurposed it as a poker table cover.
In a 2019 interview with GQ Style, the interviewer saw Holland’s poker table. Holland’s younger brother, Paddy, got a special prop, the original Iron Man mask from Robert Downey Jr.
