Tom Holland on the brutal pre-Spider-Man audition rejections that "really beat me up"
Tom Holland has admitted failed auditions before Spider-Man "really beat me up" — but which major roles slipped away, and how did they steer his Marvel journey?
Before he swung into the MCU, Tom Holland was nursing a bruising near-miss: he badly wanted the lead in November Criminals, a 2017 crime drama written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. He auditioned for the role of Addison and thought it would shift him into grown‑up leads; when the part went to Ansel Elgort, he took it hard. Holland says his dad, comedian Dominic Holland, helped him reframe the loss as part of the job.
“I thought that that film for me was going to be, like, my stepping-stone into a young-adult career,” he recalled. “I didn’t get the role, and it really beat me up. I remember being really angry about it.”
Before the mask
The Spider- Man star told Backstage he stacked up a few big rejections before Peter Parker came along. Among them: he read for Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, a part that ultimately went to John Boyega. And that November Criminals letdown stuck with him the most because he’d pinned so many hopes on it.
That early sting, he says, ended up being the kind of lesson that steadied him for the next giant swing — Marvel ’s friendly neighborhood hero.
Still in the suit
Now years into playing Peter, Holland isn’t looking for the exit. Asked about his future as the web-slinger, he told The Hollywood Reporter he’s game to keep going if audiences are.
“I’ll do it as long as they keep me. So if this movie does good, I guess we’ll see,”
Marvel boss Kevin Feige has also hinted that Spider-Man’s journey could stretch beyond the next chapter, with talk of more solo outings and even room one day for Miles Morales to enter the picture.