Tom Holland (actor)


Thomas Stanley Holland is an English actor. A graduate of the BRIT School in London, he began his acting career on stage in the title role of Billy Elliot the Musical in London's West End from 2008 to 2010. He gained further recognition for his starring role in the disaster film The Impossible, receiving the London Film Critics Circle Award for Young British Performer of the Year.
Holland rose to stardom for playing Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films ', ', ', ', and .
Holland's other films include How I Live Now, In the Heart of the Sea, The Lost City of Z, The Current War, Spies in Disguise, and Onward. In 2017, Holland received the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

Early life

Holland was born 1 June 1996 in Kingston upon Thames, London, to Nicola "Nikki" Elizabeth, a photographer, and Dominic Holland, a comedian and author. His paternal grandparents were born on the Isle of Man and Tipperary, Ireland, respectively. He has three younger brothers: twins Harry and Sam and Patrick "Paddy".
Holland was educated at Donhead, a Roman Catholic preparatory school in Wimbledon in South West London, followed by Wimbledon College, a voluntary aided Jesuit Roman Catholic comprehensive school, up until December 2012. Holland has said he was bullied in school for being a dancer. After Wimbledon College he attended The BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Holland first learned gymnastics during his time performing in Billy Elliot the Musical. In his late teens, during a lull in his career, Holland briefly attended carpentry school in Cardiff, Wales.

Career

2006–2014: ''Billy Elliot the Musical'' and film breakthrough

Holland began dancing at a hip hop class at Nifty Feet Dance School in Wimbledon. His potential was spotted by choreographer Lynne Page when he performed with his dance school as part of the 2006 Richmond Dance Festival.
After eight auditions and two subsequent years of training, on 28 June 2008, Holland made his West End debut in Billy Elliot the Musical as Michael, Billy's best friend. He gave his first performance in the title role on 8 September 2008, receiving positive notices.
In September 2008, Holland appeared on the news programme on channel FIVE and gave his first TV interview. The following year, he was featured on ITV1 show The Feel Good Factor. At the premiere on 31 January, Holland and two actors also playing the title role, Pflueger and Layton Williams, performed a version of "Angry Dance" from Billy Elliot the Musical, after which Holland was interviewed by host Myleene Klass. He trained five British schoolboys for a dance routine he fronted for the final The Feel Good Factor show on 28 March 2009.
On 8 March 2010, to mark the fifth anniversary of Billy Elliot the Musical, four current Billy Elliots, including Holland, were invited to 10 Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Holland was chosen to be a lead at the fifth-anniversary show on 31 March 2010. Holland appeared on a regular basis as Billy in Billy Elliot the Musical, rotating with three other performers, until 29 May 2010, when he finished his run.
In 2011, Holland was cast in the British dub of the animated fantasy film Arrietty, produced by Japan's Studio Ghibli. He provided a voice for the principal character Sho. Holland made his feature film debut in The Impossible, directed by J.A. Bayona, alongside Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor. Holland was praised so highly for his performance, that there were even rumours he was a contender for an Academy Award, however he was not nominated. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2012 and was a critical and commercial success, earning $180.3 million worldwide and Holland received universal praise from critics and won several awards such as the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance and London Film Critics Circle Award for Young British Performer of the Year.
He starred as Isaac in the drama film How I Live Now, which was released in the UK on 4 October 2013, co-starring Saoirse Ronan. Holland also appeared alongside Tom Hardy in a supporting role for the drama film Locke, and made a brief appearance in Billy Elliot the Musical Live to celebrate his role as a 'former Billy'.

2015–present: Worldwide recognition as Spider-Man

In 2015, Holland appeared in four episodes of BBC Two's historical miniseries Wolf Hall, as Gregory Cromwell, son of the protagonist Thomas Cromwell played by Mark Rylance. He also co-starred as Thomas Nickerson in the film In the Heart of the Sea, directed by Ron Howard.
On 23 June 2015, it was announced that Holland was cast as a teenage Peter Parker / Spider-Man, and his "life was flipped upside down", as he later tweeted, as part of a six-picture deal with Marvel Studios. As part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he first appeared as Spider-Man in '. The film was a massive critical and commercial success, grossing over $1.1 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 2016, with Holland receiving critical praise.
in 2018
In 2016, he played Bradley Baker in the film Edge of Winter, where he co-starred with Joel Kinnaman and Percy Hynes White. In 2017, Holland co-starred alongside Charlie Hunnam in the drama film The Lost City of Z, directed by James Gray, and released in April, to positive critical reception. Holland also performed as the on-set stand-in for the character of The Monster as he would reunite with director J.A Bayona in the film A Monster Calls. Actor Liam Neeson provided the voice for the character, whilst Holland was credited with a special thanks.
In 2017, he co-starred alongside Richard Armitage and Jon Bernthal in the film Pilgrimage. The film premiered on 23 April 2017 at the Tribeca Film Festival, in its "Viewpoint" sections. Also that year, Holland played Samuel Insull alongside Avengers co-star Benedict Cumberbatch in Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's The Current War, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Early reviews of The Current War was met with a mixed response; however, Holland's performance in the film was praised by critics. In May 2017, Holland appeared with Zendaya on Paramount Network's Lip Sync Battle. On the show, he performed a dance number to Rihanna's "Umbrella".
In July 2017, ' was released, in which Holland reprised his role from Captain America: Civil War. Homecoming received positive reviews and Holland considerable praise, with his performance being called "a star performance given by a born actor." The film went on the gross over $800 million worldwide. This performance earned Holland a Guinness Book of World Records title as the youngest actor to play a title role in the MCU.
Holland reprised Spider-Man in ', which was released on 27 April 2018, and then in that film's follow-up, ', released on 26 April 2019. Holland began shooting the sequel in July 2018, with production wrapping that October. The film was released worldwide on 2 July 2019. The trailer was first shown at Sony's CCXP Brazil panel on 8 December 2018, with Holland and Jake Gyllenhaal, who portrays Mysterio, in attendance to promote the film.
Holland next co-starred with Will Smith in the Blue Sky Studios animated film Spies in Disguise, voicing the film's leads, which was released in December 2019. In 2020, Holland voiced Jip, a dog, in the live action film Dolittle, alongside his MCU co-star Robert Downey Jr.. He then had the lead voice role of Ian Lighfoot, an elf, opposite Avengers co-star Chris Pratt, in the Pixar animated film Onward.

Upcoming projects

Holland will next star in The Devil All the Time, a psychological thriller film set post-World War II, alongside his Avengers co-star Sebastian Stan. The film, scheduled for release in September 2020, was directed by Antonio Campos. Holland will also headline a film adaptation of Patrick Ness' best-selling science fiction series Chaos Walking as Todd Hewitt, alongside Daisy Ridley. The film was directed by Doug Liman. Holland revealed after filming that a sequel was in the works.
In May 2017, it was announced that he had been cast as a young Nathan Drake in the 2021 film adaptation of Naughty Dog's Uncharted video game series. Principal photography began on 16 March 2020, shooting in Berlin, but was placed on hold indefinitely in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2019, it was confirmed that Holland was cast as the lead role in Cherry, based on the novel of the same name, reteaming him with his Avengers directors, the Russo Brothers. He is also now cast as the lead role in the film adaptation of Beneath the Scarlet Sky with Pascal Pictures.
In 2016, Holland was cast in The Modern Ocean. The project encountered development problems but director Shane Carruth said in 2018 that the film was still in production and had not yet been cancelled, with plans to begin filming in 2020. Holland was set for a supporting role alongside Keanu Reeves, Daniel Radcliffe, Anne Hathaway and Jeff Goldblum. In late 2020, Holland will start working on the Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel, which will end in February 2021.
Holland said that his long-term career plans are to "do some more franchises," and play "some meatier indie roles and eventually...transition to the other side of the camera and branch into directing."

Personal life

Holland resides in Kingston upon Thames in London, near the house of his parents and younger brothers. He has a blue Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Tessa. When he was seven, Holland was diagnosed with dyslexia. In June 2015, Holland was seen wearing the uniform of the English football club Arsenal F.C. in a Daily Mirror article, which led many people to speculate that he was a fan of the club. However, in a September 2019 video produced by GQ magazine, and released on that publication's YouTube channel, Holland stated that this was not the case.
Along with his three younger brothers, Holland sponsors The Brothers Trust, a UK Registered Charity that raises money for various charitable causes.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult
2012Hollywood Film AwardsSpotlight AwardThe Impossible
2012Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association AwardsBest Youth PerformanceThe Impossible
2012St. Louis Film Critics AssociationSpecial Merit The Impossible
2012Chicago Film Critics Association AwardsMost Promising PerformerThe Impossible
2012Phoenix Film Critics Society AwardsBest Youth Performance in a Lead or Supporting Role - MaleThe Impossible
2012Nevada Film Critics SocietyBest Youth PerformanceThe Impossible
2013Central Ohio Film Critics AssociationBreakthrough Film ArtistThe Impossible
2013National Board of ReviewBreakthrough Performance - MaleThe Impossible
2013Critics' Choice AwardsBest Young Actor/ActressThe Impossible
2013London Film Critics' Circle AwardsYoung British Performer of the YearThe Impossible
2013Online Film & Television AssociationBest Youth PerformanceThe Impossible
2013Online Film & Television AssociationBest Breakthrough Performance - MaleThe Impossible
2013Online Film & Television AssociationMost Cinematic Moment The Impossible
2013Cinema Writers Circle AwardsBest New ActorThe Impossible
2013Goya AwardsBest New ActorThe Impossible
2013Gold Derby AwardsBest Breakthrough PerformerThe Impossible
2013Empire AwardsBest Male NewcomerThe Impossible
2013Young Artist AwardsBest Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young ActorThe Impossible
2013Saturn AwardsBest Performance by a Younger ActorThe Impossible
2014CinEuphoria AwardsBest Actor - International CompetitionThe Impossible
2016Young Artist AwardsBest Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor In the Heart of the Sea
2016Golden Schmoes AwardsBreakthrough Performance of the Year'
2016Teen Choice AwardsChoice Movie: Scene StealerCaptain America: Civil War
2017Empire AwardsBest Male NewcomerCaptain America: Civil War
2017Saturn AwardsBest Performance by a Younger ActorCaptain America: Civil War
2017British Academy Film AwardsRising Star AwardHimself
2017London Film Critics' Circle AwardsYoung British/Irish Performer of the YearThe Lost City of Z / '
2017Teen Choice AwardsChoice Breakout Movie Star'
2017Teen Choice AwardsChoice Summer Movie ActorSpider-Man: Homecoming
2018Saturn AwardsBest Performance by a Younger ActorSpider-Man: Homecoming
2018Teen Choice AwardsChoice Action Movie Actor'
2019Teen Choice AwardsChoice Summer Movie Actor