Tom Holland's acting chops have gained notoriety and award nominations over the years after he was flung into superstardom with the Spider-Man movies. But as a young actor, he recently revealed that he's turned to several of his colleagues (and his girlfriend, Zendaya) for acting advice from time to time — including about learning how to cry on cue.
In a recent Q&A for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Holland opened up about who he goes to first when it comes to acting advice and how fellow Marvel actor Benedict Cumberbatch helped him be able to cry on screen.
“I went through a phase where I was really, really struggling to cry — in my personal life, also," Holland said. “And it was really affecting me on set.”
He then mentioned Cumberbatch's role in The Imitation Game, in which the actor has a scene where he cries.
“There's that beautiful scene at the end of the film where he breaks down,” Holland continued. "And I just remember watching that as a kid, just sort of being blown away by it. And I was lucky to be working with him on a film called Current War, and I remember asking him like, ‘How did you do that?’
Holland and Cumberbatch also worked on multiple Marvel films together, including The Avengers: Infinity War and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
“[Cumberbatch] would do this thing where he would kind of simulate laughing and he would breathe really, really quickly," Holland said. "And that would, sort of, I guess bring the emotion to the surface, and then he could just take it and ride the wave from there.”
He continued: “I started doing that and I love crying scenes now. I love it, I feel really confident, it's something I really feel like I have in my wheelhouse.”
Holland also said he no longer has to “draw on past experiences or personal matters” in order to get the tears flowing, thanks to the Cumberbatch technique.
Throughout the wide-ranging interview, Holland also named Zendaya and Robert Downey Jr. as two people he turns to for actor advice.
“Zendaya is probably the most honest with me,” Holland said. “Which I love. Because you need that.”
Downey, he joked, is “sometimes a little too honest.”
“I really respect Downey's opinion," Holland said. “He taught me so much and you know I always sing his praises and I love the guy. I admire him."
Tom Holland spoke at length about his more recent project, The Crowded Room, a psychological thriller miniseries that was released on Apple TV+ over the summer. The actor was unable to discuss the project at the time of its release due to the actor's strike. Holland said that he was taking some time off from acting after filming the miniseries, saying the show “did break me.”
