Spider-Man Star Tom Holland Reveals What He Learned From Robert Downey Jr.

Tom Holland’s days within the Marvel Cinematic Universe are numbered for the moment. The star recently talked about how his on-screen mentor Robert Downey Jr. became his real-life mentor as well at Fan X 2019. Spider-Man is back in the Sony fold without Marvel Studios control after negotiations fell apart to restructure a revenue split. Amid all of that drama, Holland spent some time with the Iron Man actor to enjoy himself.

Those Instagram pictures led to the Internet wondering if there was some sort of message being sent by the two actors. It turns out, not really, but that doesn’t mean that Holland hasn’t been trying to glean everything possible from Downey. The younger actor talked about the sorts of lessons that his Avengers: Endgame co-star has been able to pass along, and how much that means to him.

“Sometimes you don’t need to ask for advice. You can just take a step back and watch people you admire,” Holland began. “The amazing thing about RDJ is that he’s arguable the most famous movie star on the planet. The biggest movie star on the planet, you know? But, he’s always early, he knows every crew member’s name, he always knows his lines. He’s professional, he’s kind, he’s caring.”

“I was sick on set one day and I don’t even know the guy. He was like, ‘Come to my trailer and I’ll make you feel better…” Holland continued. “He kind of talked to me and took me under his wing a little bit. Entering the Marvel Universe is daunting, it’s a big process. I mean, sitting in front of 5,000 people, this is something you normally do. That’s on a regular day occurrence. The thing I’ve learned from him, [Chris] Evans, Scarlet [Johansson] is that just because you’re at the top, doesn’t mean you can be a dick.”

Sage words, albeit a bit crudely put, but the message is sincere in a number of ways. Downey was the most recognizable face in the MCU after starring in the first of these movies. Conducting yourself with grace and poise goes a long way in maintaining a long career. Iron Man wasn’t the start of Downey’s journey, and it won’t be the last, but it will take some time to get used to the actor to not be around for these team-ups.

Spider-Man won’t be attending any of the Avengers’ big dust-ups with super-villains anytime soon either. In the big roll-out for Marvel Phase 4, the character wasn’t mentioned for any solo movies. To make matters worse for Marvel fans, it doesn’t sound like Sony is too keen on walking back to the bargaining table any time soon. Now, everyone has to come to terms with neither the mentor or his protege being around in their favorite movies.