BRITISH STAR

When Tom Holland realised his childhood dream of slipping on the iconic Spider-man suit, he felt… disappointed. His own skintight outfit was not ready so he was using his stunt double’s, which hanged off Tom’s smaller frame. The actor admits: “It wasn’t quite as heroic as I would have hoped. He was much bigger than I was. So when I wore the first Spider-man costume it was kind of baggy and it was all sort of saggy round the face and stuff.” But the important thing was that the small guy who had always felt he never fitted in was now an Avenger – and part of the coolest gang around. Recalling his school days Tom, 21, says: “I used to play rugby and then everyone grew up and got really big and I stayed really small. And I always was trying to get back into that sort of rugby clique but I was just too small.” Tom is the second Brit, following Andrew Garfield, to play Peter Parker, aka Spidey, after bagging a six-movie deal with Marvel Studios. The first film, Spider-man: Homecoming – in which Marisa Tomei plays Peter’s guardian May – is released today. It follows his cameo as the webbed wonder in Captain America: Civil War last year, which thrilled critics. Tom also appears in Avengers: Infinity War, out next year, alongside Iron Man star Robert Downey Jnr, Thor actor Chris Hemsworth and Black Widow actress Scarlett Johansson. And he landed the Spidey role that all lads dream of thanks to the physique he once felt held him back. Tom excelled at gymnastics as a boy and won a part in West End hit Billy Elliot aged 12. He got the very best dance training there and that, combined with his acting talent and build, made him a shoo-in as diminutive, acrobatic Spidey. He says: “Physicality is a large part of acting. For me, the fact that I’ve had such good dancing training and such a strong background in gymnastics has been such a fantastic thing because I’ve been able to embody characters on a more physical level. “Spider-man is one of the most physical characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the world of cinema. I’m lucky I have that background where I can stretch myself on set.” Tom is definitely a young man living