The world has a new Spider-Man: Tom Holland. The 19-year-old British actor and dancer, with only a handful of films to his credit before Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios came calling with Spidey, replaces Andrew Garfield who starred as the web-slinger in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). “We saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special,” said Tom Rothman, group chairman, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures.
Here’s what you need to know about the man aiming to swing his way into the hearts of Spidey fans worldwide when the next film, directed by Jon Watts (another newbie), hits theatres on July 28, 2017.
THE BEGINNING: Tom was born on June 1, 1996 at Kingston-Upon-Thames, London, to comedian and author Dominic Holland and his photographer wife Nicola Elizabeth. The eldest of four brothers, Tom initially studied at a preparatory school called Donhead and later attended the Wimbledon College Secondary School. He’s now a student of the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology.
THE FIRST STEPS: At age 10, Tom shot into the spotlight when choreographer Lynn Page spotted him during a performance for his dance school Nifty Feet and recommended him to Peter Darling, the choreographer of the musical stage production Billy Elliot and Billy Elliot: The Musical. Eight auditions later, Tom made his West End debut with Billy Elliot: The Musical, starring as Michael.
THE BIG BREAK: After doing a few plays and some TV shows, Tom’s breakthrough role came in the 2012 Oscar-nominated film The Impossible, the real-life story of the Bennet family that weathered the 2004 tsunami. Tom played Lucas, the 12-year-old son of Maria Bennett (Naomi Watts).
JUST BEFORE SPIDEY: Tom has come into his own this past year, working in a big-banner film like Ron Howard’s In the Heart of the Sea, co-starring Chris Hemsworth, and the popular BBC Two TV series Wolf Hall. Howard has praised Sony-Marvel for picking Tom as Spider-Man: “He’ll bring humanity and heart and humour and energy to his version of Peter Parker.”
WATCH OUT FOR: Before the Spider-Man film — untitled, as of now — in 2017, Tom will play the webbed superhero in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, alongside the likes of Chris Evans (Captain America), Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) and Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow).
— director Ron Howard on Tom Holland
Date of birth: June 1, 1996
Zodiac sign: Gemini
Twitter handle: @TomHolland1996
Instagram account: tomholland2013
PS: For all those wondering whether the teen can pull off his role as Spider-Man, watch out for his recent video on Instagram (below) where he jumps off a fence… wow!
WHAT THEY DID BEFORE SPIDER-MAN
ANDREW GARFIELD
Before becoming the web-slinger in the Amazing Spider-Man series in 2012, Garfield was a little better known than Holland is now, with six feature films under his belt and two major film roles. He came to international notice with his role as Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network, for which he even got a BAFTA nomination in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category. His other major role was as Tommy in British dystopian science fiction drama Never Let Me Go.
TOBEY MAGUIRE
Maguire was perhaps the best known among the three actors before landing the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. He was a child artiste with many small roles in films like This Boy’s Life before landing major roles in well-known films like Pleasantville, Wonder Boys and The Cider House Rules.
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