Tom Holland’s been a busy man the last few years. In addition to being the current face of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in soon-to-be six MCU films over the last five years, he’s also starred in a couple of animated features, adventure fantasy film Chaos Walking, crime drama Cherry, and the Netflix thriller The Devil All The Time.
In between all this filming and these press tours, he managed pick up a starring role in the forthcoming video game action film Uncharted, which he says “absolutely broke him.” With only three days in between filming Uncharted and Spider-Man: No Way Home, he got a true taste of the different level of work required in non-CGI action sequences.
“I never realized how lucky I am that Spider-Man wears a mask, because when he’s bouncing around and flying from buildings, that’s all CG. In Uncharted it’s just me in a henley and cargo pants,” Holland says. “That film absolutely broke me.”
Picking up the role of the masked hero when he was 19, the now 25-year-old’s age is catching up with him, which he reflects on in the recent interview with GQ.
“I was going to the gym in the morning like, ‘Oh, my God, I must have torn something in my leg,’ and the guys were like, ‘You haven’t, you’re just tired and you’re getting older,’” Holland says.
By the time shooting for Uncharted wrapped, he developed tendinitis and hurt all over, learning the hard lesson that yes, usually our bodies unfortunately have different limits by the time our mid-20s come around.
With getting older, Holland is also thinking about his long term goals and how long he’ll be the face of Spider-Man. While Marvel execs are banking on him being around for the long haul like Robert Downey Jr. was, Holland isn’t so sure.
“Maybe it is time for me to move on. Maybe what’s best for Spider-Man is that they do a Miles Morales film,” Holland says. “I have to take Peter Parker into account as well, because he is an important part of my life.” But also: “If I’m playing Spider-Man after I’m 30, I’ve done something wrong.”
However, that means he’s still got a few years to figure it out, and the world’s his oyster.
“I’d be very content with just being a stay-at-home dad, and producing a film here and there,” he says. However, “I might start shooting The Crowded Room and go, ‘You know what, this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life.’ Or I might do Spider-Man 4, 5, and 6, finish when I’m 32, and never make another. I’m not sure what I want to do.”
Spider-Man: No Way Home arrives in theaters on December 17, and Uncharted is set to premiere on February 18, 2022.