10 things you probably didn't know about Tom Holland

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10 things you probably didn't know about Tom Holland
  • Tom Holland is known for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  • He's played the webslinger in five total movies and has another "Spider-Man" movie set to hit theaters on November 5, 2021.
  • There are some things fans might not know about him though.
  • For example, the actor had his first kiss backstage at "Billy Elliot: The Musical" and the worst job he ever had was being "a pot washer in a pub."

Tom Holland gained global fame when he made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in 2016's "Captain America: Civil War," and he's come a long way since then.

The 24-year-old British actor has starred in five total MCU films and a third "Spider-Man" movie is set to hit theaters on November 5, 2021. In 2019, he appeared in two of the year's films that hit $1 billion at the box office, "Avengers: Endgame" and "Spider-Man: Far From Home."

Here are 10 things you probably didn't know about Holland.

Read the original article on Insider
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As a child, Holland says he got bullied for learning ballet.

As a child, Holland says he got bullied for learning ballet.
Tom Holland in Toronto, Canada in September 2012. Joe Scarnici/WireImage

In multiple interviews, Holland has talked about how "obsessed" he was with a Janet Jackson song as a baby, which led his mom to enroll him in dance classes at a UK-based company Nifty Feet.

While at a show, he got discovered by a scout, but they told Holland he was too small to play Billy Elliott in a theater production of "Billy Elliot: The Musical." So, he trained hard for two years, grew a bit, and got the part. As part of his training, Holland learned ballet.

"I went to an all-boys school, where I played rugby, so ballet wasn't the coolest thing to do," he told "Spider-Man" costar Zendaya during a discussion for Interview magazine.

"I would do it in the school gym at lunchtimes by myself, in tights, with a teacher," Holland told GQ Style. "So you have kids looking through the windows. To a bunch of 10-year-olds who all play rugby, Tom Holland doing ballet in the gym isn't that cool."

Regardless, Holland told Zendaya that the mean comments "toughened me up."

"I'm very happy I had that training," he told her. "It's been so valuable to my career, and I've used it on almost everything I've done since."

Holland had his first kiss backstage at "Billy Elliot: The Musical."

Holland had his first kiss backstage at "Billy Elliot: The Musical."
Tom Holland in September 2012. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

In September 2008 at 12 years old, the actor made his debut as the titular character at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London's West End.

During a 2017 interview with "Spider-Man: Homecoming" costar Jacob Batalon for Moviefone, Holland revealed that his first kiss happened with one of the girls who played Debbie in the play.

"I was dared to make out with her," Holland recalled. "Dared by a friend because I was falling madly in love with her, but she had no interest in kissing me. She was dared to and I made out with her for all of three seconds and it was magical."

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His favorite MCU films are "Iron Man," "Thor: Ragnarok," and "Avengers: Endgame."

His favorite MCU films are "Iron Man," "Thor: Ragnarok," and "Avengers: Endgame."
Robert Downey Jr. in "Iron Man." Marvel Studios

Holland revealed his top picks during a 2019 interview with Comicstorian.

"Iron Man," which starred Robert Downey Jr., was released in 2008 and kickstarted the MCU.

Holland previously told IMDb that he thinks the film is "one of the greatest superhero movies" and said that "no one ever in the history of movies should ever try and play Tony Stark ever again" after seeing the way Downey Jr. nailed the role.

2017's "Thor: Ragnarok," directed by Taika Waititi, saw the return of Chris Hemsworth's titular character, plus a new haircut for the God of Thunder. The film was praised for reinvigorating the franchise with plenty of humor, colorful imagery, and bold music choices.

"Avengers: Endgame," which came out in 2019, marked the culmination of years worth of Marvel movies and went on to reach $1 billion at the box office.

Years ago when his acting career was at a standstill, his mom sent him to carpentry school as a backup plan.

Years ago when his acting career was at a standstill, his mom sent him to carpentry school as a backup plan.
Tom Holland at the 2018 Oscars. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Holland previously told GQ Style that he got cocky and "hit a bit of a rut" after starring in the 2015 film "In the Heart of the Sea."

"I was like, I've just done a Ron Howard film. I don't need to audition for stuff anymore," he said. "And it was quite the contrary. And I basically got into this rut where I wasn't, like, taking auditions seriously, and I just thought, 'I'll get this job, I'll get this job.' And I didn't. It was a bit of a punch in the teeth."

"I went through a phase in my career where I was too old to play a child, but too young to play a teenager," Holland added during an appearance on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in December 2019.

"My mom decided to send me to carpentry school, so she packed my bags up and shipped me up to Cardiff in Wales, and I rented a room off this lady and shared a room with her son for like eight weeks," he continued.

Holland didn't actually finish the course because he got called back to continue auditioning for his Marvel role, but he said that he's "pretty capable" of crafting things.

"My mom's side of the family are all carpenters, so my granddad taught me when I was young, so I built my mom's kitchen table," he told Kimmel. "I built a little cabinet in her kitchen. I fixed a friend's door once."

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The worst job he ever had was being "a pot washer in a pub."

The worst job he ever had was being "a pot washer in a pub."
Tom Holland at the 2018 premiere of "Avengers: Infinity War." Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

"It wasn't terrible," the actor told Yahoo Movies in 2017. "I was so used to being on film sets that all of a sudden I was like, 'Ugh, this sucks.'"

He has a crush on Marvel costar Elizabeth Olsen.

He has a crush on Marvel costar Elizabeth Olsen.
Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch. Marvel

Holland revealed his crush during an interview with British GQ in 2017, in which he was asked: "If you could pick any love interest from the Marvel universe for Spider-Man, who would it be?"

In response, the actor said, "I think Scarlet Witch is pretty hot, you know. I think Elizabeth Olsen is super hot and really nice as well. She was really nice to me at the premiere."

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He got a tattoo of the Spider-Man symbol on the bottom of his foot.

He got a tattoo of the Spider-Man symbol on the bottom of his foot.
Tom Holland in "Spider-Man: Far From Home." Sony Pictures

In a 2017 interview with BackToTheMovies, Holland said that getting the ink at Bang Bang Tattoo in New York (a popular place that plenty of celebrities go to when they get tattooed) "hurt so much," but was still "an amazing experience."

"I always wanted to get that Spider-Man symbol on the bottom my foot, but I just never thought would ever get it done, and the opportunity came about," Holland said, adding that he had to get inked three times because it faded away due to the location of the symbol.

Holland said that the worst piece of advice he ever received was from Mark Wahlberg, who told him to "go out and have some fun."

Holland said that the worst piece of advice he ever received was from Mark Wahlberg, who told him to "go out and have some fun."
Mark Wahlberg gave Tom Holland advice on "The Graham Norton Show." Leon Bennett/Getty Images

"Basically, he told me to go crazy," Holland told Jess Cagle for People Entertainment Network in 2017.

The actor was referring to the time he was on "The Graham Norton Show" with Wahlberg that year, and recommended that Holland and his siblings — he has three — move to LA.

"Get a jacuzzi," Wahlberg said. "I just met all your brothers. Bring the boys to Cali, get a medical marijuana license so that if you use, you have an excuse, and have some fun, dude. Have some fun for me."

"Go have some fun," he added. "You're a young, good looking guy."

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His all-time favorite movie is "Primal Fear," which was released in 1996.

His all-time favorite movie is "Primal Fear," which was released in 1996.
Edward Norton in "Primal Fear." Paramount Pictures

Holland revealed the fun fact during an interview with Yahoo Movies.

The thriller movie, based on a book from William Diehl, starred Richard Gere as a defense lawyer and Edward Norton as a teenager charged with the murder of an archbishop.

Norton won a Golden Globe for best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a motion picture and got an Oscar nomination.

In a 2018 interview with BuzzFeed, Holland listed "My Cousin Vinny" (which starred Joe Pesci and his "Spider-Man" costar Marisa Tomei) as another favorite film, in addition to "Primal Fear."

Holland stole a blue screen from the set of "Spider-Man: Far From Home" and turned it into a cover for his poker table.

Holland stole a blue screen from the set of "Spider-Man: Far From Home" and turned it into a cover for his poker table.
Tom Holland in "Spider-Man: Far From Home." Sony Pictures

In his fall/winter 2019 cover story for GQ Style, writer and interviewer Zach Baron mentioned that he saw the poker table while at the actor's house.

During a previous interview with Collider, Holland said that his younger brother, Paddy Holland, was personally given a much cooler prop, straight from Robert Downey Jr. — the original Iron Man mask from the first film.

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