Spider-Man says he wants to be a good role model
Actor has the time of his life as the new heroic Spider-Man
Rushing to his interview seat, Tom Holland trips but recovers quickly and then plops himself down ready to chat at a Manhattan hotel. It’s a rare misstep — literal or figurative — for the energetic British actor and dancer who is the new Spider-Man.
The 21-year-old successfully introduced himself as the web-slinger in last year’s Captain America: Civil War. Now Holland is the headliner in the new Spider-Man: Homecoming with a little help from his friend Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man.
The great responsibility is not lost on him.
“I had to remind myself when I first took on this character that Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man had such a huge impact on me as a kid,” says Holland. “I’m going to have that same impact on kids of the younger generation. I really wanted to do them proud and to be a solid role model.”
In the stand-alone adventure, teen Peter Parker (Holland) is still excited by his Spider-Man experience with the Avengers defined by the Captain America movie. In the aftermath, he is back at home with Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), and resuming life as a nerdy high school student.
Under the occasional tutelage of mentor Stark, Parker immerses himself in his Spider-Man role as the friendly neighbourhood crime fighter, but soon finds himself confronting the conniving Vulture (Michael Keaton).
Like most of the Marvel movies, humour is mixed with state-ofthe-art special effects action. Unlike the other Spider-Man pictures with Maguire or Andrew Garfield in the leads, the high school backdrop has more play.
“The question that (director) Jon Watts and I asked ourselves is, ‘If you gave a 15-year-old super powers, wouldn’t he have the time of his life?’” says the actor. “When I made this movie, I had the time of my life, so it really comes across on screen.”
That’s thanks mostly to the spunky Holland. He made his London West End debut in Billy Elliot the Musical as Billy’s best friend in the summer of 2008, and a few months later he took over the title part to rave reviews.
In 2012, he co-starred in the Oscar-honoured The Impossible with Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor and two years later earned praise for portrayals in Ron Howard’s In the Heart of the Sea and BBC’s Wolf Hall series.
When it was announced in June of 2015 that Holland would be the new Spidey, it changed everything for him.
“I’ve been so lucky in my career,” he says. “I feel like I’ve been in the right place at the right time at every turn. I’ve got to work with those who I would consider to be the best of the best and learn from all kinds of people.”
That’s especially true of Downey Jr. who spent extra time with Holland before the Captain America: Civil War shoot and again with Spider-Man: Homecoming. Their respect and affection for each other shows on screen and off.
“The relationship between the two of us is more interesting from this movie’s point of view because he suddenly has someone to think about other than Tony Stark,” Holland says. “Tony really cares about Peter, and that’s one of the reasons why he doesn’t want Peter to become an Avenger — he doesn’t want the responsibility of something happening to Peter on his conscience.”
On the funny side of the interplay, both characters continue their snappy patter routines. “It’s a fun back and forth just like a big brother/little brother or dad/son type situation,” Holland says.
Whether fans will see them together in other Marvel films is the fodder for speculation both true and false. The twosome do show up next year in the Marvel crossover which features the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy crew in Avengers: Infinity War.
And based on early reviews and box-office predictions, there will be another Spidey extravaganza with Holland leading the way with or without Downey Jr.
“I’m still getting over the first one,” says the actor of the sequel conjecture. “I haven’t thought about the second one yet.”
In fact, every day is an exercise in strangeness that arrives with him responding to his superhero fame.
“I read a comic yesterday, which is based off of my face,” says Holland. “What the hell? So nothing has sunk in. This really feels like I’m about to wake up and be very disappointed.”
MICHAEL KEATON ON THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE MONEY
Keaton is probably best remembered as the Caped Crusader in two Tim Burton Batman movies, but he’s the villain Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Does he have a preference?
“They’re both fun,” Keaton says. “I think actors tend to be drawn toward probably villainous characters. That’s the cliché, but it tends to be often true. If you want to delve into the dark side, it just gets more interesting.”
The size of the paycheques are different, however. “You make a lot more dough being the bigleague guy,” Keaton says.
Still, the Oscar-nominated actor enjoyed the attention to detail defining his Adrian Toomes persona, who transforms into the vengeful Vulture out of desperation. That happens when his scrap business is taken away from him by Tony Stark’s operatives, who retrieve weapons of destruction.
“It’s a unique approach, and kind of obvious when you think of it, to make this person someone who’s approachable and has a legitimate gripe and a legitimate argument,” Keaton says.
MAKING HIS SUPERHERO DEBUT WITH SPIDEY DASH
Jon Watts won the Spider-Man: Homecoming director’s job thanks to his 2015 film Cop Car and his poise during at least six interview sessions with Marvel’s brain trust. They liked what they heard and saw.
“Well, I just tried to approach (Spider-Man) as the biggest fan possible with the opportunity to finally put Spider-Man where he belongs in the Marvel universe,” Watts says. “If anything, it opened up the doors to so many new kinds of stories that we could tell.”
The filmmaker credits the Russo brothers’ Spider-Man introduction in last year’s Captain America: Civil War for establishing the correct tone. “They set up this really great premise that Peter Parker is going to get plucked out of obscurity by Tony Stark.”
TWO YOUNG ACTORS HAVE SCENE-STEALING MOMENTS
Jacob Batalon, 21, plays high school buddy to Peter Parker/ Spider-Man (Tom Holland). Not bad for an actor who made his movie debut last year in North Woods.
“Tom and I really enjoy each other,” Batalon says. “The cast, we really enjoy each other, and so it was easy to translate that into what (audiences) see.”
The one-named actress Zendaya, 20, portrays quipping classmate Michelle. She has more experience than Batalon, having starred on the Disney Channel series Shake It Up and more recently on K.C. Undercover. Still, she felt like an absolute beginner on the Spider-Man set.
“I’ve done a lot of things in my little career so far. But this is my first big movie, so I was terrified,” Zendaya says. “I suppressed it very well. I don’t know when it’s going to feel real, but it definitely doesn’t feel real right now.”
LET’S MAKE A MARVEL-OUS DEAL
Marvel boss Kevin Feige made an offer Sony couldn’t refuse with Spider-Man: Homecoming. The Marvel machine would produce the film and Sony would distribute while both would share the wealth: Sony would scoop up the box office profit and Marvel/Disney gets the merchandising take.
What Feige really wanted was Holland’s Spider-Man to show up in at least four more Marvel movies after Captain America: Civil War. Spidey is already booked for two future Avengers pictures, not to mention a guaranteed Spidey sequel.