Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe could bring Spider-Man into its fold, the perfect actor had to be scouted to play Peter Parker. Marvel Studios searched with Sony for just right star, and Tom Holland was the lucky man who nabbed the in-demand role. However, according to the British actor, getting his foot in the door for Spider-Man was much easier said than done.
Recently, Holland has been doing press rounds for Spider-Man: Homecoming ahead of its premiere in July. The actor stopped by Good Morning America to hype the film, and it was there that Holland said he auditioned eight times for Spider-Man. And, now only that, but his final audition was a rather memorable one with another MCU superstar.
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“For my auditions for Spider-Man, all I did was send them videos of me doing backflips. Like, by the way, I do gymnastics,” Holland said, nodding to Spider-Man’s athletic prowess.
“Then I got to my final audition and it was a fight scene with Chris Evans, and it says Spider-Man flips in a frame. So, I said to the producers, “Do you want me to do a flip?” They were like, can you do a flip? Well, yes! I’ve been sending you all these videos for weeks!”
Clearly, Holland’s combined acting and gymnastic skills helped him nab the role of Peter Parker. Fans and critics have praised the actor’s take on the hero since he debuted last year in Captain America: Civil War. Stan Lee has also thrown out his opinion on Holland’s gig, and the beloved comics creator is a big fan of the work.
“Oh, he’s wonderful. I was with him the other day. He is great,” Lee said of Holland during an appearance at Denver Comic Con. “I can’t believe it. It’s as if we created a living being to be Spider-Man, and it turned out to be Tom.”
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You can find the official synopsis for Homecoming below, which has a 4.13 out of 5 on ComicBook.com’s anticipation rankings.
A young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in Captain America: Civil War, begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine โ distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man โ but when the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened.
The cast includes Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Tyne Daly, Bokeem Woodbine, with Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr. It also includes Jon Favreau, Martin Starr, Kenneth Choi, Michael Mando, Selenis Leyva, Isabella Amara, Jorge Lendeborg, Jr., JJ Totah, and Hannibal Buress.
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