As much as I love Tom Holland, I possibly love his mother even more. The newest Spider-Man franchise star has a great relationship with his family, and was even with them when he heard the news of being cast as the iconic superhero. Apparently back when he was filming Spider-Man: Homecoming, his Spider-Man debut, his mom was even advocating for him offset when he didn’t know how to tell Marvel bosses that his Spidey suit made it hard for him to pee.
In a recent interview on Live with Kelly and Ryan, Tom Holland relays a story from a few years back about starting work on Spider-Man Homecoming and struggling through filming without bathroom breaks. Apparently the zipper-less Spider-Man suit gave little opportunity for one to relieve themselves, and Holland relayed that fact to his mom over a phone call. Here it is in the star’s own words,
On the first movie, I remember we were shooting this sequence on the Washington Monument, and I was in the suit for days at a time, sort of 11 hours. And I was young, so I wanted to impress the studio, I didn’t want them to think I needed breaks. And I remember calling my mom up on one of our daily phone calls. I was like, ‘Mom, I’m really struggling. I’m working every day, and because I wear the suit, I can’t go to the bathroom.’
I’m picturing Tom Holland calling his family up after a long day’s work on set of the his first major film, and it’s absolutely endearing. I love that even though he pretty much made it big as soon as he secured such a huge role in the MCU, Holland was calling home to talk about his day. He sounds like every mother’s dream, really.
Apparently calling home and chatting with his mom worked out for him, though, as Tom Holland says his mother ended up fighting for his right to pee a normal amount during the day. In the same interview, Holland talks about having a chat with the movie producer about the shape of his kidneys after his mom called to make sure he was getting proper bathroom breaks. Holland continued:
And then two days later, the producer came up to me and was like, ‘How are your kidneys?’ I was like, ‘My kidneys are fine, why are you asking?’ He’s like, ‘Well, your mom called us.’
Okay, so having your mom call on your behalf to any job isn’t a great feeling. I can’t imagine what Tom Holland was thinking after knowing his mom called to chastise the Marvel bosses on their treatment of her son, even if the lack of pee breaks was unintentional.
Tom Holland was pretty young at the time, though, and deserved to have someone advocate for him on such a major movie set. It might as well be his own mother. This isn’t the first time Mama Holland hasn’t been super thrilled about a film the star has been a part of, as she wasn’t too happy about his heavy drug use in Cherry.
Tom Holland has come a long way since the days when he was too nervous to speak up about needing to take off his Spidey suit and use the bathroom. While still being the endearing actor we all know and love, he’s moving on to more mature roles.
You can see him doing some pretty intense stunts opposite Mark Wahlberg in the newly released, slightly altered film adaptation of the video game Uncharted, which is now playing in theaters. If you’re more of a Marvel fan, though, his newest addition to the MCU’s Phase 4 films, Spider-Man: No Way Home is still in most theaters as well. As for what the future holds for Holland, though, a well deserved acting break may be in store for the star.