From playing Billy Elliot on stage in London, Tom Holland quickly caught the attention of critics with his award-hoovering performance in the 2013 tsunami drama The Impossible.
Now 21, Tom Holland is starring in Spider-Man: Homecoming, his first solo outing after rebooting character in last year's Captain America: Civil War. He says that being a child actor-dancer wasn't always easy. "I had my rough patches," Holland says. "There were times when I was bullied about dancing and stuff. But you couldn't hit me hard enough to stop me from doing it! I, like Peter Parker, accepted I wasn't the cool kid at school and just found my group of friends and got on with it. Peter's storyline hits every key point of growing up. It's fantastic to see a superhero going through the things you go through."
Tom Holland in his Spider-Man: Homecoming suit
Of course, he's the third big-screen Spider-Man in 15 years, after Tobey Maguire (2002, 2004, 2007) and Andrew Garfield (2012, 2014). And he's had run-ins with both recently. "I met Tobey in L.A. at a Baby Driver screening, and he sat, like, right in front of me. I was like, 'Tobey! Tobey! Hi, I'm Spider-Man!' I kind of want Tobey Maguire to play Uncle Ben in the next movie. I think that'd be super funny, but I don't think he'll do it. And earlier this year I met Andrew at the Baftas, and he was so sweet. You know, it really felt like he was passing on the torch. It was a nice, very English sort of 'Hello mate, nice to meet you.'"
But Holland says neither of them warned him about the worst aspect of the role. "All I have on under that costume is a thong," he laughs. "They brought them in on my first day, like, 'Here are your thongs!' I had serious misgivings, would my arse ever be the same again? But I had to get used to it. Even though I was thinking no way, no way!"
Spider-Man: Homecoming is only just out in cinemas, and Holland has already reunited with the Avengers on the set of Infinity War. But he refuses to discuss the plot. "I don't know anything about it or what it's about," he laughs. "I know who the villain is, but that's it. They don't let me read anything because I'm so bad at keeping secrets. But that movie literally needs no teasing. It's going to be the biggest movie of all time. Believe me, no one is ready for that movie!"
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