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Tom Holland: The Newest Spider-Man Goes From British Stage Star To Iconic American Superhero

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 15:50 PST, Mar 10, 2016

Tom Holland is the newest Spider-Man, but behind the iconic American superhero is actually a young actor who made his name on the British stage.

Holland got his big introduction to audiences on Thursday, with his character Spider-Man getting an important moment of screen time in the newest trailer for Captain America: Civil War. Holland will have a role in this summer’s blockbuster, more importantly he will be anchoring the Spider-Man franchise when it returns in 2017.

Tom Holland will be the youngest star so far in the Spider-Man series at just 19 years old, though he does have quite an impressive acting resume that includes the award-winning miniseries Wolf Hall.

But his true impact has come on stage. Holland made a name for himself early, standing out to talent scouts as a young dancer and at the age of 11 earning a spot as friend Michael in the stage play Billy Elliot the Musical. He later moved into the title role, and in 2010 was picked to play the lead in the fifth-anniversary of the play.

But his age seems to fit perfectly with the reboot of Spider-Man, which will focus on a high school-aged Peter Parker. While the previous two iterations of the Spider-Man series have Peter Parker in high school, he is an upperclassman close to graduating. Holland will bring the part back to its roots, with Parker as a younger teen.

In an issue of Empire Magazine from last fall (via Yahoo), director Jon Watts said that Tom Holland and his experience as the nimble Billy Elliot is perfect for the role.

“There are only so many times you can kill Uncle Ben. I love the idea of making a coming-of-age high school movie. We’re really going to see Peter Parker in high school and get deeper into that side of it. He’s just 15 now… Tom was pretty perfect. He’s very athletic. He can actually do a backflip! If he didn’t already capture the spirit of the character, with that on top the kid is Spider-Man.”

Holland will be the third actor to play Spider-Man in the latest cinematic series, following Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. And the British actor is already earning big praise compared to his peers, with Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn saying his is the best Spider-Man yet.

As Screen Rant noted, it seems like more than just empty praise from Gunn.

“Evoking names like Downey, Chris Pratt, and Oscar winner Heath Ledger may seem like hyperbole, but Gunn could be on to something here. During a Facebook AMA in December 2015, the filmmaker said that he’s seen Civil War and called it ‘one of the best Marvel movies ever.’ In particular, Gunn had great things to say about Holland, feeling that the new take on the character is ‘off the charts awesome.’ So, it’s safe to say that he’s not merely pumping up Marvel’s new film; Gunn knows what he’s talking about and is excited about what’s coming.”

Fans who want to see Tom Holland as Spider-Man won’t have much longer to wait. He will join the rest of the Avengers in this summer’s movie, which premieres May 6, before returning in the solo Spider-Man movie on July 28, 2017.

[Image via YouTube]

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