Tom Holland at the Apple TV limited series premiere of 'The Crowded Room' at the Museum of Modern Art on June 1, 2023, in New York. Photo: AP
What English actor Tom Holland looks for when choosing a new role is to do something he’s never done before.
“I love a challenge. I love stepping onto a set and feeling nervous.
“I have become so comfortable with being uncomfortable, especially because I’ve spent the last 10 years of my life hanging upside down in spandex, I just, I really like a challenge,” he tells StarLifestyle during a virtual group interview session.
Holland is on Zoom with reporters from around the world to talk about his latest project, The Crowded Room, which happens to be his first starring role in a TV series. He also executive produced it alongside writer-creator Akiva Goldsman (The Beautiful Mind).
“And there is no challenge like The Crowded Room.
“It was a huge undertaking, not only as an actor and as a producer, but also just as me, you know, to mentally have to put up with what we did on that show was incredibly tough, and ultimately led to the reasons why I said yes,” adds Holland, best known for playing Marvel’s friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man on the big screen since 2016.
A 10-episode series, The Crowded Room follows Holland’s character, Danny Sullivan, who is arrested for his involvement in a shooting in New York City in 1979.
To uncover what really happened on that fateful day, a curious investigator (Amanda Seyfried) visits Danny in prison and starts a series of conversations with him.
Through these chats, Danny’s past slowly comes to light, such as his relationship with his mum (Emmy Rossum) and stepdad (Will Chase), and how certain events in his life have led him to the crime scene.
An investigator (Amanda Seyfried) talks to Danny (Tom Holland) to find out what really happened at the crime scene. Photo: Handout
The 27-year-old star describes the Apple TV+ original as a psychological thriller with many complicated twists and turns.
“It gives us an insight into life in New York in the 1970s; it tells us about the criminal justice system and just how crazy it can be. I think, at its core, this is a twist-and-turn roller-coaster unlike anything anyone has really experienced before,” says Holland.
Based on the 1981 novel The Minds Of Billy Milligan, the series also showcases Holland in a role unlike anything audiences have seen him in before.
To put it simply, Danny is the opposite of his characters in Spider-Man movies and action flick Uncharted.
A vulnerable and powerless young man, Danny is always an outsider wherever he goes.
He has only a few people he can call friends (Sasha Lane, Sam Vartholomeos and Levon Hawke), as many others have let him down.
“As an actor, it was a wonderful opportunity to show off what I think I can do.
“Danny’s constantly searching for empathy, and no matter where he looks, he can’t seem to find it. He is someone with a good heart.
“He is someone with good intentions. But he is also someone who is incredibly broken,” says Holland in the series’ production notes.
Tom Holland describes 'The Crowded Room' as a very special project.
Besides getting to play a different type of character, Holland signed on to the project even before the script was ready because the series looks at mental health, an issue close to Holland’s heart.
“The way in which we portrayed mental health was really the most important aspect of telling this story.
“And I say that because we did everything that we could to make it is as authentic as possible, to be a true representation of what these poor people go through.
“And to hopefully give the world some understanding as to what dealing with trauma is like.
“So, I really hope audiences can look at this show and take away some sort of education. That was the responsibility that we were carrying and I hope that we’ve done it justice,” adds Holland, who worked with psychiatrists for the show and to get a better understanding of his own mental health.
According to an Entertainment Weekly article, Holland in turn has brought what he’s learned about mental health into his own life, especially when it comes to what the actor describes as “recognising triggers” and “things that stress me out” like social media.
In August last year, the Brit unplugged from social media.
“I have taken a break from social media for my mental health because I find Instagram and Twitter to be overstimulating, to be overwhelming. I get caught up, and I spiral when I read things about me online. And ultimately, it’s very detrimental to my mental state,” he says on Instagram.
While he still occasionally posts stuff on social media since the break, he restricts them to highlighting about his Brothers Trust charity organisation, sharing a couple of red carpet photos and news on The Crowded Room.
He also tells CNN that making the series “did break me” and he is taking a year off from acting as a result of it.
Danny's school years is made better thanks to Mikey (Sam Vartholomeos) and Jonny (Levon Hawke, right).
During our group interview, he confirms that he is definitely living out of the spotlight for now.
“I’m at home in London with my family, building cupboards and gardening, and doing all that sort of stuff.
“I’m just taking some time for myself to kind of decompress and gear up for our press tour and to promote the show in the best way possible. So, I feel really good,” he says.
As it turns out, the day of our interview coincides with the eve of Holland’s birthday. He says it will be a low-key affair.
“I’m turning 27 tomorrow. I’m very excited about it. It feels weird that I’m kind of getting into my late 20s.
“But I’m going to go for a lovely dinner tonight with some friends. But I’m not really a big birthday person. It’s not a day that I go crazy for,” says Holland who is reported to be in a relationship with actress, and Spider-Man co-star, Zendaya.
Tom Holland in The Impossible with Naomi Watts.
What he is truly passionate about at the moment is obviously The Crowded Room. Holland says he is extremely proud of the series, calling it “a very, very special project”.
“It feels like a little bit of a turning point in my career. It feels like the beginning of a new chapter. So, it will forever be important,” he says beaming.
“I’ve been so lucky that I’ve been working since I was 11 years old.
“I guess one of the things I missed out on in life is an education, really. I only went to secondary school and that was about as far as I took it,” he adds.
“So, for me, to get to work on projects like this and learn from people like Emmy, like Amanda, like Will Chase, like Akiva, you know, like the art directors – I love learning from people – so, for me, this is my education.
“And for that, I’ll be forever grateful,” says Holland, who started performing in theatre before deciding to be in films after working with Naomi Watts in his first big movie, The Impossible (2012).
Whether the “new chapter” will include Holland reprising his role in a fourth Spider-Man movie, Holland tells Variety: “I can’t talk about that, but I can say that we have been having meetings.
“We’ve put the meetings on pause in solidarity with the writers (who are on strike). There’s been multiple conversations, but at this point it’s very, very early stages.”
The Crowded Room is streaming on Apple TV+ with a new episode available on Friday.
Tom Holland, best known for playing Marvel’s friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man on the big screen since 2016.
