Tom Holland told Amy Poehler on the latest episode of his Good Hang podcast that working with partner Zendaya was a “lifeline” and that he “couldn’t imagine doing what I do without her.” The two A-list stars have co-starred in four “Spider-Man” movies, including this summer’s “Brand New Day.” The two are also scheduled to appear in Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey”.
According to Holland, the two had a “great moment” on the set of Spider-Man: Brand New Day when they admitted to each other that a scene they were filming didn’t go well. He explained that “because of our relationship,” he had the courage to check in with Zendaya and make sure they both agreed that the scene needed to be rewritten and reshot.
“We filmed my interview, and now we’re interviewing her, and I never dreamed I’d say this to an actress who wasn’t with me. So I said, ‘Do you think this scene is effective? “And she said, “No.” I don’t think the scene is working at all,” Holland said. “I went to the producers and said, ‘Do you think this scene is working?’ They said, ‘No,’ and I said, ‘Oh, neither me nor Z are really feeling it.'”
Holland and Zendaya then expressed their concerns to the film’s director, Destin Daniel Cretton, who said, “Listen, I know we’ve been filming for hours and hours and I hate to say this, but I just don’t think this scene is working. We’re not feeling what we’re supposed to be feeling right now.”
“He’s very calm. Nothing can upset him,” Holland explained. “He listened and sat down and asked, ‘What are you trying to feel?'” I told him that, and he said, “That’s exactly what we’re supposed to feel.” He told his staff, “Everyone’s going to go home and sit down and rewrite this scene.” I came to the scene the next day and reshot the scene. I sing in the movie, so I thought it was a good idea to do it. It was so funny that I was thinking, what if it wasn’t Zendaya sitting across from me…Imagine someone else’s coverage being like, ‘Do you think this works?’ ”
Holland went on to praise Zendaya’s performance as “fearless”, adding, “She really steps back 10 toes and I’m going to give this her all. When you see her as Rue, she couldn’t be more different from her in real life. And when you see her as Emma on ‘The Drama,’ it’s going to be a completely different performance, but the intent, the passion, the drive, it’s never less.”
You can watch Holland’s full interview on the Good Hang podcast in the video below.
