Tom Holland reveals the toe-curling mistake he made in his first screen test with Robert Downey Jr

Tom Holland spills on a mortifying Marvel audition as Robert Downey Jr. fuels Avengers: Doomsday rumors with a cryptic post.

Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland gave the MCU one of its best pairings. But before we ever got Stark and Parker’s mentor-kid energy on screen, Holland very nearly face-planted in the most hotel-room way possible. And now Downey is out here posting a suspiciously Doom-y Father’s Day doodle that has fans connecting every dot in the multiverse.

How we got Stark and Parker in the first place

It kicked off in Captain America: Civil War, when Tony Stark recruits a very green Peter Parker. The dynamic clicked fast: Tony as the reluctant dad/teacher, Peter as the overeager prodigy. That thread ran through Spider- Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, and Spider-Man: Far From Home, then hit its heartbreaking peak in Avengers: Endgame, where Tony’s death wrecks Peter and closes the book on that era.

• Civil War: Stark spots Spidey, brings him into the mess
• Homecoming: full-on mentorship, training wheels and all
• Infinity War: Peter follows Tony into space, and it ends badly
• Endgame: the reunion… and the goodbye that still stings

The audition story Holland just told (and yes, it’s mortifying)

On the Rich Roll podcast earlier this year, Holland said that the night before his big Marvel screen test with Downey, nerves got the best of him and he wiped out the hotel minibar. Marvel, being Marvel, did not miss it.

"When I did my first screen test with Downey. The night before, I polished off the minibar and Marvel found out about that."
"Whenever it came up in conversations, they were like 'yeah yeah we know about that, we asked the hotel.'"

So picture this: you’re about to read opposite the guy you grew up watching as Iron Man, the test that decides whether you become Spider-Man and join the Avengers, and you’re already sweating because the studio just confirmed with the front desk that you nuked the snacks and tiny liquor bottles. Not exactly the pregame routine you’d recommend before auditioning for Marvel.

For the record, Holland has since been open about stepping away from alcohol, but in this story he keeps it simple: he raided the minibar, Marvel knew, and they loved to bring it up. The upside: the audition still went smoothly, and he got the part that changed everything.

Meanwhile, Downey drops a Doom hint? Fans think so.

Downey’s recent Father’s Day post wasn’t just cute; it was coded. He shared a childlike drawing of Doctor Doom flying kites with his son. On the kites: the Avengers logo on one and the Fantastic Four symbol on the other, each with a red no-slash over it. Subtle? Not even trying to be.

Given all the chatter around an 'Avengers: Doomsday' era and Doom stepping into the spotlight, fans read it as a cheeky nod to exactly that: Avengers and Fantastic Four turbulence with Doom pulling strings. To be clear, nothing is confirmed about Downey actually playing Doctor Doom, and neither Marvel nor Downey has announced anything official. But as teases go, this one is… loud.

So, from Holland’s minibar misadventure to Downey’s Doom doodle, the behind-the-scenes messiness and the public winks remain very much alive in Marvel land. Honestly, it tracks.