Spider-Man's Tom Holland Taking A Year Off From Acting

Marvel's Spider-Man actor Tom Holland is taking a year off from acting. 

Holland – who will star in the upcoming Apple TV+ psycho-drama limited series The Crowded Room – has been very open about how psychologically distressing his role in the show was for him, personally. Now he's claiming (in an interview with Extra) that it was upsetting enough to make him want to take a break from acting, altogether: 

"'It was a tough time, for sure," Holland said about making The Crowded Room. "We were exploring certain emotions that I have definitely never experienced before. And then on top of that, being a producer, dealing with the day-to-day problems that come with any film set, just added that extra level of pressure. I'm now taking a year off, and that is a result of how difficult this show was." 

In addition to making him step back from acting, Tom Holland has also revealed that making The Crowded Room has also made him step toward sobriety and greater mental health awareness: 

"I'm no stranger to the physical aspects of the job doing the whole action-movie thing. But the mental aspect, it really beat me up and it took a long time for me to recover afterward, to sort of get back to reality," Holland explained to EW. "I was seeing myself in him [Danny], but in my personal life. I remember having a bit of a meltdown at home and thinking, like, 'I'm going to shave my head. I need to shave my head because I need to get rid of this character.' And, obviously, we were mid-shooting, so I decided not to... It was unlike anything I've ever experienced before."

It's an opportune time for Tom Holland to take a break from acting: Marvel's progress on Spider-Man 4 has been delayed (like every other TV show and movie) by the Writer's Strike that's currently ongoing. It's even being rumored that Hollywood actors could soon be joining the picket line in solidarity, as many of the issues the writers are pushing on also carry over to the acting industry. That means that a lot of big stars could have some more time on their hands in the next year or so – why not focus on some self-care? 

What Is The Crowded Room About? 

In The Crowded Room Tom Holland stars as "Danny Sullivan, a shy, anti-social teen from Upstate New York who is arrested after a shooting at the Rockefeller Center in 1979. Through a series of discussions with investigator Rya Goodwin (Amanda Seyfried), Danny comes to better understand his own mental health, the people in his life, and the tragic events that led up to the incident."

The Crowded Room will release its first three episodes on Apple TV+ on June 9. The rest of the episodes will stream weekly thereafter.