Actor Tom Holland has disclosed an unconventional method he employed during the filming of Spider-Man: No Way Home, where he pretended that his arms were lifeless in order to better portray his character as a superhero.
The 25-year-old actor – who has starred as the Marvel superhero in various movies since 2016 – revealed that allowing himself to lose control of his arms was a ‘secret weapon’ on set.
He said: ‘My secret weapon is that I will always pretend like my arms are dead so that when I move, my arms kind of swing around.
Acting out: Tom Holland, 25, ‘pretended like his arms were dead’ when filming Spider-Man: No Way Home
‘And so Peter Parker’s hands are always doing the most crazy stuff. And for me, that has been a really good way of like, making him feel youthful while also in moments of peril and stuff like that.’
Tom explained that playing Spider-Man can initially feel quite restrictive, due to the nature of the costume which covers up the entire face.
Speaking on YouTube series First We Feast, he said: ‘It’s definitely difficult. I mean, as an actor, you use expression with your face to convey emotion, and when you take that away, you have to figure out how to do it with your physicality.
Screen star: The actor – who has starred as the Marvel superhero in various movies since 2016 – revealed that allowing himself to lose control of his arms was a ‘secret weapon’ on set’
‘So if you took off the Spider-Man suit and I behaved the way while in the suit, you’d think I was a crazy person and acting way way too much and too big.
‘But cover up your face – all of a sudden, those bigger reactions feel normal.’
The BAFTA-winning star – who started acting as a child with the lead role in Billy Elliot: The Musical – also recently admitted that would consider a career change.
He said: ‘My secret weapon is that I will always pretend like my arms are dead so that when I move, my arms kind of swing around’
He told Sky News: ‘I don’t even know if I want to be an actor.
‘I started acting when I was 11 and I haven’t done anything else, so I’d like to go and do other things.
‘Genuinely, I’m sort of … having a midlife crisis – at 25, I’m having like a pre-midlife crisis.’
