New Spider-Man Tom Holland Doesn't Know What Happens in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
Some movie fans (myself included) often go out of their way to avoid spoilers for highly-anticipated blockbuster movies, but you wouldn't normally associate that behavior with an actor who actually appears in that movie. Tom Holland is the exception to the rule. The young actor has been cast as the new Spider-Man, and before he leads his own solo film for Sony Pictures, his version of the character will make his onscreen debut in Captain America: Civil War next summer. But here's the thing: even though he's in the movie, he doesn't know what it's about.
In an interview with EW's Sirius XM radio show that will air on December 14th, Holland says he chose to avoid spoilers for his own movie, and for a pretty good reason:
“I don’t even know what Civil War is about. I was only working on it for a week or two weeks or something. So they offered for me to read the script, and I said ‘No, I don’t want to read it, because I’ll be doing all these interviews and I’ll end up telling secrets and stuff. I’ve got such a big mouth.’ So I actually don’t know what it’s about. I’m going to watch this film as an audience member, rather than someone who is in it. I’ll be like, ‘I wonder what my bits are about?’”
As /Film reminded me, actor Asa Butterfield was rumored to have blown his opportunity to play the part because he talked too much about it on the internet, so Holland's opposing method, though perhaps a little extreme, at least proves that he won't be able to get in trouble for revealing too much.
Holland also spoke about auditioning for the part, and being brought in to read with Robert Downey Jr:
“It was so intimidating. But the thing was, I walked into the room on this soundstage, and they had this little set, and Robert took me aside and said, ‘Listen, I remember my screen test for Iron Man. I remember how terrified I was. Just think of it as an audition. It’s nothing too scary. If you get it wrong, we’ll just start again. No pressure.’ But that kind of raised the pressure a little bit for me. But he was great and super supportive, and because he said he’d been there and had been in the same situation, it made me relax a little bit.”
I can't even imagine the nerves one might experience while reading opposite a mega-star like Downey as you try to prove that you belong alongside him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Holland locked it down, and I'm interested to see how his take on the web-slinger differs from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's when first see him pop up in Captain America: Civil War on May 6th, 2016.