Tom Holland Kept “Chugging Red Bulls” to Survive $1.9B Marvel Movie That Gave Him Gruesome Injuries

Tom Holland's fight scenes with Willem Dafoe were so intense he had to drink Red Bulls to keep him going.

Tom Holland Kept “Chugging Red Bulls” to Survive $1.9B Marvel Movie That Gave Him Gruesome Injuries

SUMMARY

  • Tom Holland shared how physically demanding it was filming for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
  • The actor sustained knuckle injuries after intense fight scenes with Willem Dafoe.
  • Holland gushed about meeting Dafoe and revealed how happy he was to work with the veteran actor.
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Tom Holland was so committed to his fight scenes with Willem Dafoe in Spider-Man: No Way Home that he injured himself and just relied on drinking Red Bulls to take the edge off. The scene was so intense that both of them collapsed on the floor.

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Tom Holland as Spider-Man
Tom Holland as Spider-Man

Spider-Man: No Way Home was helmed by Jon Watts, and it also marked Holland’s sixth appearance in the MCU as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. The film picked up after the events in Spider-Man: Far From Home in which Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio revealed the young hero’s identity to the world.

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Tom Holland Injured Himself While Fighting Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin

During his interview with Collider, actor Tom Holland revealed he engaged in an intense fight scene with Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin where he sustained an injury. He noted how physically demanding MCU films are:

When I say there’s a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, I’m not exaggerating. Making these films is incredibly tough and physical, especially when you’re playing a character like Spider-Man.”

Holland and Dafoe did not hold back during their duel scene, which left the Spider-Man actor with a wounded fist. He continued:

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.”

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green goblin copy
Green Goblin

The rigorous fight sequences completely depleted the pair’s energies. Holland revealed the secret to recharging was drinking bottles of Red Bulls:

I remember on the last day of shooting that fight scene when Jon said cut, Willem and I both just collapsed to the floor because we were exhausted and we just had given him everything. I remember just chugging Red Bulls to try and keep my energy going.”

After filming all those challenging stunts and fight moves, Holland and Dafoe just listlessly fell on the floor after the director yelled cut.

RELATED: 71 Page Sony Pact Forbid Marvel from Making Spider-Man Gay, Have S*x – May be Why Tom Holland Has Zero Intimate Scenes With Zendaya in MCU

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Tom Holland Gushed About Meeting Willem Dafoe

Raving about working with Willem Dafoe, Spider-Man star Tom Holland shared via ComicBookMovie how he felt when he finally got the chance to collaborate with the original Green Goblin actor:

It was incredible. It was a dream come true. Firstly, getting to fight against the Green Goblin, and then secondly that Green Goblin getting to be Willem Dafoe was amazing. It was honestly incredible. Like I said before, [there were] so many ‘pinch me’ moments.”

willem dafoe green goblin
Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin

Holland further shared how Dafoe would recall some of his lines from the Sam Raimi film, and everyone would just be in awe:

He would say things he had said in the previous movies, and everyone would get chills down the back of their spines. It was awesome. It really was incredible, and I couldn’t dream of a better version.”

That was indeed a surreal moment for Holland, and all the pain he endured from those fight scenes with Green Goblin certainly paid off after Spider-Man: No Way Home grossed over $1.9 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film released by Sony Pictures.

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RELATED: Tobey Maguire And Andrew Garfield Accidentally Solved Marvel’s Kang Problem In Spider-Man: No Way Home

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Written by Ariane Cruz

Articles Published: 2026

Ariane Cruz, Senior Content Writer. She has been contributing articles for FandomWire since 2021, mostly covering stories about geek pop culture. With a degree in Communication Arts, she has an in-depth knowledge of print and broadcast journalism. Her other works can also be seen on Screen Rant and CBR.