Promotion for In the Heart of the Sea has garnered many interviews with Tom Holland speaking on his breakout role as Peter Parker aka Spider-Man in Marvel and Sony’s upcoming reboot. The latest come from Digital Spy, The Irish Examiner, and MTV News, with whom the British actor discussed his Spider-Man predecessor Andrew Garfield, how acrobatics helped him get the part, and more.
“I haven't [met him], but I'm a huge fan of Andrew and he's said some lovely things about me in the press the other day,” Holland said of The Amazing Spider-Man star. “He did such a good job as Peter Parker and it's really difficult not to copy him because what he did was so perfect and obviously there are going to be things that I might steal but I hope we get to meet and even work together in the future.” Despite the poor critical reception of the Amazing movies, Garfield performance was arguably the best thing. So Holland borrowing some elements is certainly cool!
Beyond a vouch from his In the Heart of the Sea co-star and Thor leading man, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland says his Billy Elliot camp training helped him win over Marvel and Sony during the auditioning process. “I basically did a somersault into frame and a somersault out of frame and I was like, ‘They may never see this but if they do I need them to know that I’ve got some gymnastics abilities and stuff,” Holland explained. “And every tape I sent in I always did a little acrobatic demo to try and convince them to give me the role” Well, that evidently payed off.
In preparation for the new standalone Spider-Man movie, which doesn’t start shooting ‘til later next year, Tom Holland says he’s been trying some new and intriguing exercise methods. “I went to this gym yesterday where they strap electric belts on you and you do exercise whilst being electrocuted,” he said. “It's a really strange experience. It's like a dull tingling but I'm definitely feeling it today. I have to do 20 minutes once a week. Marvel are quite against us doing our own stunts [though].” Jumping in a bouncy house is another exercise method that Holland is utilizing to prepare him for his web-slinging role. “I’ve just been given this new gymnastics mat called an AirTrack, which basically you just plug in and it blows up and it’s a huge bouncy castle that you can bounce around in in your garden,” he said before explaining what the role means to him. “It’s been a dream of mine to be Peter Parker, and I almost feel like I’ve been preparing my whole life, and the last few months, I’ve been doing nothing but reading comics.”
