Tom Holland revealed one annoying habit that would get him told off by directors on set. Holland revealed that during his Marvel days, he would often push the creative boundaries that would irritate his directors. His on and off-screen girlfriend Zendaya also confirmed this annoying habit. Holland has majorly worked with directors Joe and Anthony Russo and Jon Watts in the MCU.
The Uncharted actor is rumored to return to his role in the fourth Spider-Man film in Marvel’s shared universe with Sony. Tom Holland took a break from acting after his mentally exhausting role in the AppleTV+ series, The Crowded Room.
Tom Holland Annoyed His Marvel Directors With One Habit
During the promotion of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tom Holland and Zendaya appeared for a fun interview with BBC Newsround. When the interviewer asked them who among the two was scolded the most on set, both unanimously answered that it was Holland. The Chaos Walking actor shared that he liked pushing the creative boundaries on set and improvising his roles. The directors would then tell him to do exactly as he is told. Holland shared with BBC Newsround:
“Because I like pushing the creative boundaries. And sometimes I push it too far and the director is like, ‘Will you just do as you’re told!'”
The actor who debuted as a child artist in the 2012 film The Impossible earlier told Backstage magazine that he would like to be involved in behind-the-camera works of the film. Holland would follow the practice of reviewing the takes for the first few weeks of filming. He revealed it as a “dancer-in-the-mirror” mentality, one of his prep routines for a role, alongside script analysis and personal character-building. Holland shared with Backstage:
“I watch almost every take back while we’re shooting. And it’s something that scares directors quite a lot. You sometimes find people going, ‘Why do you want to watch everything? Don’t you trust me?’ And it has nothing to do with my performance. It has everything to do with my physicality.”
While most directors don’t encourage Holland’s habit, interestingly, Joe and Anthony Russo, who worked on four films with the actor were okay with it. The Russo brothers had worked with Holland in the MCU films, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, and the 2021 film, Cherry. They loved Holland’s attention to detail and “knack” for behind-the-camera collaboration. Anthony Russo told Backstage:
“It suits our process very well, to be honest with you. We like to talk to people as filmmakers. We like to talk about the totality of the film with all of our collaborators. And Tom is somebody who is very easy to engage on that level, because his brain goes there. He doesn’t silo himself in a very specific process or a specific craft; he understands the larger process of the movie we’re all making together.”
Holland has been a highly successful actor in the MCU, with his last two films crossing the one billion mark. Spider-Man: No Way Home grossed $1.922 billion at the box office, merely missing the mark of $2 billion. Besides his MCU role, Holland executive produced and starred in the series, The Crowded Room, which he described as a challenging endeavor.
Tom Holland Took A One-Year Break From Acting Following The Crowded Room Role
Tom Holland wanted to expand his horizons beyond just acting and turned to executive produce his AppleTV+ series, The Crowded Room. The psychological thriller series was in no way an easy ride for Holland as an actor. Speaking to Extra, Holland revealed that it was a very tough journey and he had explored certain emotions in the series that he had never experienced before.
The executive producer role also added to the pressure. Holland shared that he was taking a one-year break from acting after the series. The Spider-Man: Homecoming actor shared with Extra:
“It was a tough time, for sure. We were exploring certain emotions that I have definitely never experienced before. And then on top of that, being a producer, dealing with the day-to-day problems that come with any film set, just added that extra level of pressure. I’m now taking a year off, and that is a result of how difficult this show was.”
Talking to Live with Kelly and Mark eight months into his break in 2023, Holland revealed that he was grateful to his fans who supported him throughout his tough times. Holland also thanked his fans for the success of his show, which scored an audience score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Crowded Room is now available on AppleTV+, while his MCU movies are now available for streaming on Disney+.
