When Tom Holland joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Spider-Man in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, he credits Robert Downey Jr. for helping his big break get off the ground. In a recent podcast interview, Holland revealed that Downey advocated for him during the filming and helped make him feel comfortable on set.
Originally, Holland’s first scene with Downey was scheduled to be cut significantly from its original eight pages down to just two pages. However, Downey questioned the directors about the changes. According to Holland, Downey said “Where did all the kid’s lines go?
You’re going to want to keep this scene – let’s shoot the whole thing and then you can decide what to cut later.” The directors listened to Downey and ended up using the full, extended scene in the final film.
Holland said working with Downey for the first time was “really overwhelming.” Downey helped ease his nerves by improvising lines during their screen test together. “He just started changing everything, which helped me feel more relaxed. I could follow his lead,” recalled Holland. Currently, Holland has starred in three popular Spider-Man movies and several Avengers films since that debut role.
Looking ahead, Holland seems both excited and wary about plans for a fourth Spider-Man film. He said writers currently have “an excellent” plot outlined but acknowledge it may take work to fine tune.
Holland also notes a “stigma about the fourth film” in franchises. If he does pass the role to a new actor, Holland says he hopes to pay forward Downey’s mentorship: “If I can help bring Miles Morales into the MCU someday, I’d like to support the next actor like Downey supported me.”
