Tom Holland charmed everyone with his role as Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, managing to win over even the most devoted Tobey Maguire fans. Yet, his casual fun attitude in film promotions often fails to convey the entirety of the challenges he faced in the role. Holland suffered several injuries, including one during his fight scene with the Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home that left him with a bloodied knuckle.
No Way Home marked Holland’s sixth appearance in the MCU, and he never allowed his commitment to drop even one percent throughout the films. However, he also shared the screen with senior actors like Willem Dafoe, who set a high standard of dedication to the film.
Tom Holland And Willem Dafoe Was Exhausted After Filming Spider-Man
The book, MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, provided some behind-the-scenes details from Spider-Man: No Way Home. The book shed light on the dedication levels of actors Tom Holland and Willem Dafoe for the film. According to Holland, after the last day of shooting, both he and Dafoe collapsed to the floor from sheer exhaustion.
The Uncharted actor revealed that the production witnessed a lot of real blood, sweat, and tears. The filming took a toll on all the actors involved, with Holland suffering injuries while filming action set pieces. The Chaos Walking actor added that the cast members gave the film their 110%, as they believed in the film and the characters. The book quoted Holland from his interview with Collider:
“I mean, when I say there’s a lot blood, sweat and tears, I’m not exaggerating. We all believe so much in these characters and we give it 110%. I know in my fight scene with the Goblin, I bust my hand up… my knuckles were bloodied and we were really going for it. We were putting everything into it. And I remember on the last day of shooting that fight scene when John said cut, Willem and I both just collapsed to the floor because we were exhausted and we just had given him everything.”
Interestingly, the 68-year-old Dafoe, who had to be digitally de-aged for the movie, insisted on performing his own fight scenes. He figured it was essential to establish the character as more than just internet memes. Dafoe told The New York Times (via the book):
“Because that’s really fun for me. It’s the only way to root the character. Otherwise, it just becomes a series of memes.”
To maintain their energy, it seems both actors relied heavily on Red Bull during the shoot. They had two significant fight sequences in the film.
Tom Holland Fought Willem Dafoe In Two Intense Battles In The Film
The third Spider-Man film in the MCU delivered a nostalgic treat bringing in some fan favorites from earlier Spider-Man franchises. When Doctor Strange accidentally triggers a multiversal collision event, villains from earlier Spider-Man movies, including the Green Goblin, Dr. Otto Octavius, Lizard, Electro, and Sandman, make their way into the MCU’s universe. Tom Holland’s Peter Parker decides to help these villains, but the power-hungry Green Goblin goes rogue.
A fight ensues in Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan’s apartment, which tragically results in Aunt May’s death. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man teams up with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s web-slingers from other Universes for an epic showdown. Holland, filled with vengeance, reveals a darker side, as he tells Goblin that he wants to kill him. He beats up Goblin and even comes to the verge of taking his life, only to be stopped by Maguire’s Spider-Man.
Fans can now enjoy these incredible performances by streaming Spider-Man: No Way Home on Starz.
