Tom Holland told Amy Poehler on the latest episode of the “Good Hang” podcast that acting alongside his partner Zendaya is a “lifeline” and “I couldn’t imagine doing what I do without her.” The two A-list stars have worked together in four “Spider-Man” movies, including this summer’s “Brand New Day.” They will also both appear in Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.”
According to Holland, the duo had an “amazing moment” on the set of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” when they mutually acknowledged that a scene they were filming just wasn’t working. He explained that it was “only because of our relationship that” he had the courage to check in with Zendaya to make sure they both agreed the scene needed to be rewritten and reshot.
“We shot my coverage. Now we’re doing her coverage, and I would never ever dream of saying this to an actress that I wasn’t with. So I said, ‘Do you think that this scene is working?’ And she was like, ‘No. I don’t think the scene is working at all,’” Holland said. “I went to the producers and asked, ‘Do you think the scene is working?’ They said, ‘No,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, me and Z are really not feeling it.’”
Holland and Zendaya then took their concerns to the film’s director, Destin Daniel Cretton, saying: “Hey, man, listen, I know we’ve been shooting for hours and I hate to tell you this, but I just, I don’t think that this scene is working. What we’re supposed to feel, we’re not feeling it in the moment.’”
“He’s so calm. Nothing can throw him off,” Holland explained. “He listened and sat down and was like, ‘What are you trying to feel?’ I told him and he said, ‘That’s exactly what we need to be feeling.’ He said to the crew, ‘Everyone can go home and we’re gonna sit down and rewrite this scene.’ We came in the next day and reshot the scene and I’m so glad that we did because it sings in the movie. It was just so funny, I was thinking about, like, if this wasn’t Zendaya that I was sitting across from… imagine on someone else’s coverage being like, ‘Do you think this is working?’”
Holland went on to praise Zendaya as “fearless” when it comes to her acting, adding: “She’s just like absolutely 10 toes down, I’m gonna give this everything. When you watch her as Rue, she could not be more different to who she is in real life. And then if you see her as Emma in ‘The Drama,’ it’s just such a different performance, but with no less intent or passion or drive.”
Watch Holland’s full interview on the “Good Hang” podcast in the video below.
