Spider-Man: No Way Home Star Tom Holland Reflects on His Mistakes

Believe it or not, Tom Holland’s beloved take on Spider-Man has already been in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for more than half a decade. He was first introduced as the new Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, way back in 2016, and he has since become one of the franchise’s most familiar faces. The on-screen Spider-Man has grown quite a bit over the last five years and the same can be said for the actor playing him. According to Holland, he has been steadily learning from his early Spider-Man mistakes, continuing to become a better actor and steward of the character as time goes on.

Holland spoke with Total Film magazine for the publication’s recent issue, chatting about the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home. The young actor opened up about his experience taking on one of the most iconic roles in entertainment, how he’s learned, and how it has changed who he is as a performer.

“I’ve grown and changed in the best ways possible. I really learned how to stand up for myself. When you first start making these films, you’ve got to do as you’re told, and you don’t think anything of it,” Holland explained. “But as time goes on you realize that you’re an actor in your film, and you need to protect yourself. Sometimes I’ll say ‘No’ as a full sentence. I’ve learned how to stand up for myself , how to behave in a professional capacity when you’re the leader. I’ve learned how to enjoy my fame, rather than run away from it”

“It’s been an amazing experience,” he continued. “And as an actor, I’ve found so much confidence in my ability, through having this safety blanket that is Spider-Man. It’s like a playground for me. Somewhere I can play freely, and make mistakes. And sometimes those mistakes are the birth of the best idea, and that’s where the character’s growing from.”

Holland went on to say that he wouldn’t tell his younger self to do anything differently, because the mistakes and shortcomings over the years have led to what he has and who he is today.

“I would basically say, ‘Don’t do anything for the money.’ I would really, really try to teach my younger self that money means nothing. Money is just a number on a screen. Then again…You now what? Scratch that. I wouldn’t tell my younger self to do anything differently,” the actor said. “You only learn from mistakes, you don’t learn from winning. All the things I’ve done wrong have helped me end up where I am today. I haven’t done anything terrible that I would go back and change. So year, I would probably just let him get on with it, if I’m honest.”

The young actor has done quite a lot of growing on the job, starring in three Spider-Man films and appearing in three other MCU movies in just over five years. From the way it sounds, Holland is just fine with that.

Spider-Man: No Way Home arrives in theaters on December 17th.