Tom Holland and Jake Gyllenhaal appeared together in 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, which is the sequel to 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Directed by Jon Watts, Far From Home is the 23rd movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which also starred Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Cobie Smulders, Samuel L. Jackson, Jon Favreau, and more.
Far From Home follows Peter Parker, being recruited by Nick Fury and Mysterio, played by Jake Gyllenhaal to face the Elementals while he is on a school trip to Europe. Upon its release, the movie garnered positive reviews from critics and the audience, especially for its action sequences, humor, visuals, and exceptional performances by Holland and Gyllenhaal. After working together closely, Tom Holland discussed his working relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal.
Tom Holland talks about fighting crazy monsters with Jake Gyllenhaal on Spider-Man: Far From Home
During an interview with Collider, Tom Holland was asked about his co-star Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays Quentin Beck a.k.a., Mysterio in the movie. Holland said,
“He’s awesome and Jake and I got on really well and it’s interesting because when you hear the word Mysterio as Spider-Man fan you immediately think villain, and that’s not the case in our film, he’s sort of a new addition to this world of heroes, and sort of my teammate throughout the movie.”
Holland also said that Gyllenhaal is such a great guy, and they got on well, adding that it had been fun fighting crazy monsters with him. Tom Holland went on to explain that it’s because imagining stuff is quite difficult when you’re doing it alone, but when someone else accompanies you, it becomes easy.
The British actor had appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers and was once again asked about his working equation with Gyllenhaal, to which he explained,
“It was interesting because I’ve always been such a big fan of his work. And I really looked up to him and when I found out that he was cast, I was quite nervous about the idea of working with him. And then, he came to set for his first day of shooting, and what Marvel do sometimes is, they will completely change the lines overnight.”
Holland continued,
“So Jake was like, he was like, panicking. So I found myself on day one working with one of my idols like ‘it’s okay man, it’s okay. This is just how it goes over here in the Marvel world.’ So it was really weird.”
Tom Holland expressed in his interview with Collider that every year, he talks to his agents about five actors and directors he wants to work with, and Jake Gyllenhaal was always on the list. He added that it was really special that he finally got to work with him.
Tom Holland shares he leaned on Jake Gyllenhaal for guidance on navigating fame
In his 2019 interview with GQ, Tom Holland, who likes to be a private person, added that he does not like to live in the spotlight. Talking about leaning onto people around him to navigate his way through fame, he said,
“I’ve been so lucky that I’ve had friends like Zendaya, RDJ, Chris Hemsworth and now a friend like Jake Gyllenhaal, where I can really kind of confide in them, ‘cause they’ve been through it before.”
The director Jon Watts, during an interview with EW, also shared that Gyllenhaal and Holland really just got along almost immediately and would always crack each other up during takes. He added that they would get halfway through an amazing take, and then the actors would end up making each other laugh, and they would have to cut.
Gyllenhaal also shared the admiration towards Holland, adding that he helped him with his lines, especially when they were changed overnight. He added that Tom Holland took on the responsibility of leadership and did it in such a beautiful way that he looked up to him.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is available on Disney+.
