Tom Holland Spills How He Got in Shape for Iconic Spider-Man: Homecoming Role

English actor says he hit the gym daily to get his chiseled body

By Meg Swertlow Jun 26, 2017 9:03 PMTags
Watch: Tom Holland Spills on Tackling "Spider-Man" Role

Tom Holland, the English actor who's about to become a household name for his turn in Spider-Man: Homecoming, caught up with E! News over the weekend and talked about what it was like taking on the iconic role of the famed web-slinger.

In the sit-down, which was also with his co-stars Zendaya, Jacob Batalon and Laura Harrier, Holland admits that the fellow actors' reaction to his putting on the iconic Spider-Man suit for the very first time wasn't exactly what you'd expect.

"The first time they saw me in it, it was funny because all they would do was touch me," said the 21-year-old, who added that the young stars couldn't keep their hands off of him. During the interview, they all chimed in about the Spidey suit, "It feels like a basketball!" 

 

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Chuck Zlotnick/Sony Pictures

Holland admitted that although the suit looked and felt cool, there were some big issues with its construction—namely that he couldn't see or hear out of it!

"The first time I put on the suit it was really cool, but you couldn't see anything out of it...so we had to change the eyes," he said. "We had to come up with a new way of doing the eyes because you just genuinely couldn't see anything."

Chuck Zlotnick/Sony Pictures

As for whether or not he felt pressure to get in shape for the weighty role, Holland admitted that before filming one particular revealing scene where his suit falls off, he actually kept weights off to the side to prep his body.

And how did he get that body? "I just went to the gym every day," he confessed.

The 21-year-old English star joins stars Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, who reprise their roles as Iron Man and Captain America, as well as franchise newcomers Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Silicon Valley's Martin Starr and Michael Keaton, who plays the villain the Vulture.

Back when news hit in 2015 that Holland was cast in the role, Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group Chairman, said in a statement, "It's a big day here at Sony….I've worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent.  For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom's screen tests were special.   All in all, we are off to a roaring start."

Amy Pascal, who launched the franchise in 1999 with Tobey Maguire in the titular role, echoed Rothman's sentiments by stating, "[We] all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world. With Tom, we've found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man's story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe."

Spider-Man: Homecoming is set for release on July 7.