When Robert Downey Jr. throws the script away, you have no choice but to follow it.
If Tom Holland had listened to his agent, he might not have gotten the Peter Parker / Spider-Man career-changing role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. During a discussion with Daniel Kaluuya as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” video series, Holland looked at the “terrible” audition process for Marvel, which lasted seven months and six separate auditions. Advised by his agent not to improvise during a movie audition, Holland ended up making things up after his audition scene partner Robert Downey Jr. threw the script out completely.
“They always say you did a great job and they get in touch, and then six weeks go by and you’re just waiting and waiting,” said Holland. “Eventually, I did a screen test in Atlanta with six other children and [Robert Downey Jr.] it was there. We all tested with Downey, which was crazy. It went so well. It was the best audition I’ve ever done. He and I were arguing with each other. My agents told me that Marvel likes you to learn the words exactly and that you can’t improvise and you can’t do anything like that. I learned the words exactly and, in the first take, Downey completely changed the scene, so we started messing with each other. “
Holland called his mother after the audition with Downey Jr. to say he was confident he would get the part, as it was the best audition of his career, but six weeks went by without a word. When Marvel finally called, it was for another test, this time a fight test against Chris Evans. Holland nailed it too, but he still wouldn’t know about the cast until weeks later, while checking the internet.
“I took my computer and my dog was sitting next to me,” said Holland. “I type ‘Marvel’. I still have the article saved on my computer. It said: ‘We would like to introduce our new Spider-Man, Tom Holland’. I broke my computer because I turned it up. Fell off my bed; my dog has gone crazy. I ran down the stairs. I was saying to my family, ‘I got the role! I got the role! ‘”
See Holland’s full interview with Kaluuya in the video below. The actor, starring in Apple’s “Cherry” next month, is replaying the role of Peter Parker in a third MCU movie “Spider-Man”, which opens in theaters in December.
Tom Holland discovered that he was cast as #Spider man through Instagram: “I broke my computer. I will come up. Fell off my bed. My dog went crazy ”| #ActorsOnActors presented by @AmazonStudios https://t.co/Ewr5P0KHLF pic.twitter.com/kts7XFHMdA
– Variety (@Variety) January 20, 2021
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