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I think for so many of us, you know, getting bad reviews, perceptions, people talking about us, whatever that may be, whatever scale we live at, can actually affect us. Do you think that you've been able to create a bit more of a skill around that now? Or is it something that happens naturally for you? Because I'm guessing that there's a lot of people who are listening and watching going, "Tom, that's pretty amazing that you can do that at your scale and your level, but you know, I'm still affected by that." The number one thing I hear is like most people don't chase their dreams because they're scared of what their mates will say, let alone what the world will say.
Yeah, I guess have you kind of figured out a little formula for it? Or is it just natural because you saw your dad and it's become easier that way? I think it's a little bit of both, really. You know, I think it's something you definitely get better at. I live by this really I don't actually know if Christian Bale did say this, but ap- I love Christian Bale. I love Christian said it. Yeah. But I think the quote is, "If you have a problem with me, text me. And if you don't have my number, you don't know me well enough to have a problem with me." That's so good. And I think that is such a great piece of advice because as a celebrity,
you live on this stage, you live out there. You kind of give out a version of yourself that you want people to see. And that can be the version of yourself that they can have a problem with or they can love. And there is a you know, I feel like I'm quite authentic in my public persona. But I just try to really care about what my family thinks, what my friends think, what the people in my local community think. I live in Kingston. I know everyone that lives there. I can't walk 5 ft without bumping into one of my mom's friends. So yeah, so it's something I've been working on. I try my best to not let that stuff affect me. It does.
Yeah, of course. I'm not cold-hearted or anything like that. It does affect me, but I just try to move on and focus on the positives. Yeah. And was there ever a piece of feedback or a rumor or something you saw that did affect you where you actually thought well or at least made you stop and go, "God, I'm trying to see the positives, but this one's tough." Like this actually made me have to pause and figure it out. Something that did really upset me, I was in New York, I was shooting The Crowded Room, and I was having a really hard time with the job just because of how taxing it was, the emotional capacity that I was
having to get to every day. And I decided to delete my Instagram because I just felt like I was so addicted to this kind of false version of my life that it was just taking over. I would be on set working, I'd come and sit in my chair and just scroll scroll, and it was becoming a problem. I was just obsessed with it, and I was obsessed to find out what people were saying and how people what they thought about me. So, I decided to make an announcement, which unfortunately we have to do, and say that I'm taking a break from social media, and I tried to position myself and say like, "I'm taking a break from social media because I feel like my mental health will benefit from it." And the thing that really upset me is the
press ran with that, and they tried to make out that I was having this mental breakdown. And what upset me was if I was having a mental breakdown, that's not for you to report on. They took the story in the wrong direction, and they try they painted again this negative light on mental health, rather than saying, "Oh, he's doing it. It's okay that he's doing it, so we should all feel okay to do it, too." They were saying, "Oh, look, he's not the perfect happy-go-lucky kid you think he is. He's having a nervous breakdown in New York." And I think that was a really unfair line of journalism, let's say, because I just think it again kind of painted people looking for help in the wrong light, if you know what I mean.
Yeah. Like the message of our show is that asking for help should be something that we celebrate. Yeah. you're struggling, if you need help, if you feel bad and you wake up and you go to a friend, a therapist, a teacher, an employee, or colleague and say, "I'm really struggling. I need some help." That should be something that we give you a pat on the back like, "Oh, I would love to help you." That I'm delighted that you asked me. And that for me, that announcement was kind of my olive branch and the press ran with it how they ran with it. But, to be fair, it kind of gave me a great drive to finish The Crowded Room in the way that we did. To like, if you're not going to listen to my personal message,
then you have to listen to the message of my show. Yeah. So, it kind of went hand in hand. I want to go back a little bit because there's a lot of interviews that you've done and I've watched a lot of stuff over the time, but like we were talking about, a lot of it sound bites because it's quick and short and like these entertainment, you know, interviews and that's why I was really grateful that you took out the time to do this, but you were diagnosed, as far as I read, with dyslexia at age seven. Yes. And I was wondering how, you know, a lot of our community and our audience is diagnosed as well, or some of them are not, but they're finding out later on in life. How did that affect you? How were
you set up for success with that from the because as an actor, you've got to learn lines, you've got to read lines, you There's a lot of activities that people would assume are quite challenging. Sure. But, you found a way and walk us through that a little bit. I don't know. I had My mom has always been really hands-on with our education. Mhm. She, you know, really wanted us to just do our best. Our dad always said like, "Look, I don't care what grades you get as long as you try your best." And that's all that we can ask for.
Mhm. But, yeah, my dyslexia my spelling was really the biggest hurdle. Um, I worked really hard at school. I didn't do particularly well, but again, my parents said as long as you try your best, then that's all we can ask for. Yeah. And acting you started early, too, at age nine, right? Like, that was something that you started pursuing really early on in life and I feel Was that something that you were always sure about? There's that famous viral TikTok that always goes around of you, you know, I can't I don't know how old you were, being asked, you know, what superhero would you play when you're older? And you say, "Oh, maybe Spider-Man, right?"
I quite fancy being like a superhero. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know. What kind of superhero would I want to play? Maybe Spider-Man in like 10 years time. How much of your acting career do you feel like you've manifested or there was a vision or a focus or is it more just like this was naturally what you were into and it grew? Where did that come from? I do believe in manifesting, actually. I really do. I think what's interesting about my career is this was never something I wanted.
I just was a young kid. I loved dancing. My mom would take me to a dance class every Saturday. And I got spotted through that dance class to audition for a show on the West End. I ended up doing the show. I loved it. Billy [clears throat] Elliot. It was the time of my life. You know, it was such a cool experience. I'm just by complete fluke an agent came to see the show the night that I was on. She signed me. She sent me to an audition for a film. I was lucky enough to get the part. All of a sudden I was on set with Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts and we made The Impossible. And to be perfectly honest with you, it was just a hobby. It was
something that my mom would let me do on the summer holidays. She was very keen that I kept my schooling up. And there sort of came that time in England where you're in between GCSEs and A levels and you're trying to figure out my When I was going through that, you could still drop out at A levels. Obviously, now you have to do A levels. And I had that moment where I was like, "What do I want to do? I could try and stay at school and figure out what I want to do or this thing that's been a hobby, but my sort of summer holiday activity, which is acting, I could try and do that for a living." And I've been so lucky that I've been, you know, offered jobs and all that sort of stuff.
I decided to go with it. I joined the BRIT School because, you know, my mom was keen that I didn't go for school for an education, but went to school to expand my social skills and meet kids my own age. All my friends when I was 15 were like 30-year-old people cuz they're all adults from the business. Um so, I think my mom was keen that I had some friends that were my age who are now my best friends today. So, I never really wanted this. I just sort of never stopped doing it. And I love it. I absolutely love it. I love the creativity. I love the building blocks that are required to put a film together. I love the collaboration on set between people from all different walks of life. You know, a film set is a
melting pot of all sorts of different people. Um so, I love it. I absolutely love it. Yeah. Wow. And I read something that you said you were bullied for like doing ballet. Yeah, right. Which obviously got you into the playing the role of Billy Elliot cuz he's ballet and tap, right? It's both. So, was that tough at the time? Or like were you trying to hide it and then you end up on, you know, you end up at the West End and you're on the main stage and everyone's seeing it? Or was it kind of easy to navigate? And how did that go down? Because I feel like as a kid doing ballet and tap must have been a little challenging.
Yeah, I mean, it was it wasn't easy, but it also wasn't tough, you know? I went to a rugby school, so you can imagine like the one kid in the school that does ballet. There's going to be comments here and there. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world. There were kids that didn't understand why I was doing it or what I was doing it for. No matter how many times I explained like I'm the only guy in a class of 30 girls in tights. I was like, "Guys, this is what you want to be doing. Like rugby is not it." But I No, it was tough. But again, like it goes back to what we were saying about resilience and keeping your head down and Crowded Room was the hardest job I've ever had for all sorts of different reasons. And there was a
point in time where we were talking about do we shut this down and walk away from it cuz of how challenging it was? And you know, I dug my heels in. I put my head down. I was like, "No, I'm going to finish this. I'm I'm to see it through." And I think, you know, you learn from past experiences like that. So, I really am proud of the way we everyone handled the crowded room. And I think that stems from my childhood, my dad's experiences, and all that sort of stuff. Yeah. One of the things that you mentioned recently was that you gave up drinking about a year and a half ago. Yes. And you said it was the hardest thing you ever did.
Yes. And I wanted to know what was so hard about it for you. Why was it so hard? It's interesting. I didn't one day wake up and say, "I'm giving up drinking." I just like many Brits had a very, very boozy December. Christmas time, I was on vacation. I was drinking a lot. And I've always been able to drink a lot. I think I get my genes from my mom's side in that thing. Like I can drink. And I decided to just give up for January. I just wanted to do Dry January. And all I could think about was having a drink.
It's all I could think about. I was waking up thinking about it. I was checking the clock, "When's it 12?" And it just really scared me. I just was like, "Wow, maybe I have a little bit of an alcohol thing." So, I sort of decided to punish myself and say, "I'll do February as well. I'll do 2 months off. If I can do 2 months off, then I can prove to myself I don't have a problem." 2 months go by. And I was still really struggling. I felt like I couldn't be social. I felt like I couldn't go to the pub and have a lime soda.
I couldn't go out for dinner. I was really, really struggling. And I started to really worry that maybe I had an alcohol problem. Um so, I decided that I would wait until my birthday, which is June 1st. I said to myself, "If I can do 6 months without alcohol, then I can prove to myself that I don't have a problem." And by the time I had got to June 1st, I was the happiest I'd ever been in my life. I could sleep better. I could handle problems better. Things that would go wrong on set that would normally set me off, I could take it my stride. I had so much such better mental clarity. I felt healthier, I felt fitter.
And I just sort of said to myself like, why am I enslaved this drink? Why am I so obsessed by the idea of having this drink? And I would look back and recognize that I would go to events for work and, you know, I can't enjoy myself until I've had a few beers. And I just felt so much pressure. And this is one of the things why I've sort of distanced myself from the rugby community cuz so much of it is about how much can you drink? Let's get you as drunk as possible. And it's honestly been the best thing I've ever done. I'm a year and a half into it now. It doesn't even cross my mind. I found amazing replacements that I think are fantastic. Ones that are also really healthy. I found this one beer that
it's full of electrolytes and it's, you know, the carbohydrates in it are long-lasting energy. [clears throat] So, like having a beer is now actually like a really healthy thing. I'm really lucky that all my friends are super supportive about it. I've never run into that scenario where my friends are like, "Oh, go on. Just have a beer. Like, you're fine." They've always sort of really supported me. And I don't want to be that person that's saying to people, "You should get sober." If I could encourage someone to drink less, then that's great. But I don't want to start getting into the world of you need to stop drinking because I just it's it's not for me to say. I went on my own
little journey. I'm really enjoying it. I'm delighted that my mom's has also given up. She's loving it. And it's been amazing. I can't believe the difference that I feel from not drinking. Yeah. I feel amazing. Yeah. For anyone who is listening right now and is going, "Tom, I love that for you. I want to do it, too." Like, they're listening going, "I'm having too much every day. I can notice some of those things, but I'm just stuck. And it's hard because we know that addiction's that way. We know that this is heavy. It's not easy." But if someone is watching going, "Tom, tell me like what did you do to even get started? How did you have that courage
to say, 'I'm going to do January. I'm I'm to stick to it.'" Were there any moments where you actually fell back and then had to get back on the horse again? Like just walk us through that a little bit more for anyone who is watching going, "Tom, mate, I want to be in your position in like 6 months." I didn't fall back on it. I have done in the past. Like I've had periods of my life where I'd given up drinking and then gone back to drinking.
Um but this time I don't know. It was just different. I really worked to sort of change my mindset. I really asked myself like, "Why do you drink? Why are you drinking?" And a lot of the time my answer would be to feel more comfortable in a social environment. Yeah. And I just put myself in those environments and just would force myself to be there. I'd force myself to hang out and go to a club or go to a bar, go to a dinner. Yeah, so you weren't avoiding those places. I was at the beginning because I didn't feel like I could go and not have a drink because of the stress of it. But then after a while I sort of was like, "Mate, you've got to pull your socks up
here and you can't just live in your house all the time. You've got to go out and enjoy yourself. And if you're only enjoying yourself because you're drinking, then you really do have a problem." But I just changed my mindset. I just I found really good replacements. Things that I could sort of attribute to having a beer. I often found with me most of it is just the ritual of cracking something open and sharing it with friends and drinking it. Whether it's sparkling water or a beer, I now can't I don't associate like I don't see a difference. Yeah. But I think it's different for everyone.
I had a great support system. Jack is one of my best mates and we travel all over the world. He doesn't drink. And doing it with him was a really helpful experience for me. My brother is always on the road with me. He was very supportive. And yeah, I just really set my mind to it. I was like, "I really want to do this. I want to prove to myself I can do it." Yeah. And then once I'd felt the health benefits and started really feeling like my full self Yeah. I was like, "Oh my god, this is the best." I honestly cannot believe like the amount of times I've sat down with an actor that I really admired or
sat down with a producer or a director and been like, "Oh, you know, well, I don't drink anymore." And they go, "Oh, I don't drink. 10 years." And you're like, "Oh my god." And I've had so many insightful conversations with people like yourself where you've heard their story, their reason for giving up. And there is a wonderful community of people. And I love it. I love being a part of that community. I'm really proud to be a part of it. I hope that, you know, I can meet other people and chat to them about it, because it's really nice. It's lovely to be like, "Let's go get a lime soda together." You know?
We ask everyone the final five. And so, these are the final five questions, which means answers have to be one word to one sentence maximum. Okay. No more than that. Done. Okay? Uh and you don't have to write or spell them out. So, no verbal answers. long That'd be a long segment. of that. All right, so, Tom Holland, these are your final five. Uh question one, what is the best advice you've ever received? It's to turn your nerves into excitement. I like that. That would never happen on the show. Loved it. All right, second question. What is the worst advice you've ever received?
Move to LA, get a marijuana license, and buy a hot tub. Who told you that? Mark Wahlberg. That's brilliant. No, he told me that on a chat show. So, I don't know if that was legit advice, but I didn't take his advice. Okay, good. Well, who would you have been if you took that advice? Who knows? Um all right, question number three. What's the first thing you do every morning and the last thing you do every night? Make my bed. It's the first thing I do. And the last thing I do before I go to bed, admittedly, is I check my emails, which I shouldn't do. But that is what I do. Yeah, it's bad.
Yeah, we ask that just to make you aware of what you need to change. I do need to change that. Making my bed is a good start. I used to never do that. And now, like, my first thing I do is I make my bed. That's like my first challenge of the day. It's a good It's an easy one to get done. Question four, what's something you're trying to learn at the moment? I'm currently taking golf lessons. And uh We see a trend here. It's not going very well. All right, where are you at the moment?
Thing is with golf is that the golf swing is a very, very particular thing. So, in order to get better, you do have to take quite a few steps backwards. I've taken maybe 25 steps backwards, but I will benefit from it eventually. Fifth and final question, if you could create one law that everyone else in the world had to follow, what would it be? Um I don't know. I don't know what one law would solve the most amount of problems. What would you say, Curious? I'd probably go to something you said earlier. If I'm giving a genuine answer, like a real answer, is I really wish there was a life school.
Oh, man. Like I that would be it because I'm not saying that would solve all the problems in the world, No. but it would set people up. And when I say life school, I mean emotional mastery. I mean 100%. ego mastery. I mean the ability to be kind and empathetic and vulnerable and compassionate and create safe spaces. I think a life school that taught you how to be non-judgmental Sure. and non-critical of others without understanding them. I think Sure. I mean by life school. So, not just the like paying taxes and bills and stuff, but the life school of like, well, what if we didn't have to live in a world where we just said everything we wanted to and did everything we wanted to and got away with it and you
know. Well, I think life the life lesson for me should be basic health and CPR and basic first aid training. It should be like you said, creating an environment at school where young people feel more comfortable talking about themselves, what they're going through, you know, things that might be happening at home or things that are happening at school. Like, I think that would be an amazing way for us to be more expressive and more comfortable expressing. And again, like I know I keep going back to it, but it's about what my show is about, which is you should feel empowered when asking for help. It should be something that you're proud of, like you're recognizing that you have an issue. It might be an
internal issue, it might be an external issue, but you are seeking help, which I think is very admirable.
