Tom Holland Says The Odyssey Is His Last Chance to ‘Play a Boy’

The Odyssey prima Tom Holland is acceptable to determination connected to the adjacent portion of his career. Playing heir to the throne of Ithaca and lad of the long-lost Odysseus, the Spider-Man histrion sees the relation arsenic the last clip he’ll play a “boy” connected screen.

Holland started his acting travel astatine a precise young age, having taken to the London West End to play Billy Elliot astatine conscionable 12-years-old. He would past marque his big-screen debut successful 2012’s The Impossible, earlier securing his astir celebrated relation to day successful the MCU astatine the property of 20 erstwhile appearing arsenic Peter Parker successful Civil War. Now 30, and with some The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day hitting theaters this summer, he’s each acceptable to turn up.

“I deliberation for me, it's 1 of the large coming-of-age stories successful Western literature,” Holland told IGN astir The Odyssey. “I deliberation it felt truly similar the past clip successful my vocation I get the accidental to play a boy. It felt similar a cleanable benignant of bookend to the archetypal section of my career.”

“What I emotion astir Telemachus is that his travel is 1 of self-discovery,” helium continued. “He's pining aft his dada and doesn't truly cognize wherever helium belongs oregon who helium is. And passim the people of the movie, helium learns to go a man, to measurement up to the plate, to instrumentality the throne, but lone erstwhile he's ready.”

Christopher Nolan’s latest surely gives Holland much country to play with erstwhile it comes to his performance, demanding a sterner, much superior broadside to him than we’ve go accustomed to successful his quippy MCU surroundings. But 1 happening helium won’t beryllium moving distant from conscionable yet is 1 of his co-stars, Jon Bernthal.

Both starring successful The Odyssey, arsenic good arsenic other each different successful Brand New Day, Holland and Bernthal person shared the surface for astir a decennary now, having besides some appeared successful the 2017 Apple TV thriller, Pilgrimage. It’s a narration that Holland thinks fondly of.

“I deliberation our archetypal time connected The Odyssey felt similar a benignant of legendary time for the 2 of us,” Holland revealed. “We had 2 days worthy of enactment scheduled, and we got it each successful 1 night, and it was an incredibly affectional scene. It was a immense challenge. I deliberation we near the acceptable feeling similar we'd truly accomplished something. I deliberation what Chris [Nolan] does truthful good is helium decidedly tests you aboriginal on, and if you're capable to emergence to the occasion, it gives you truthful overmuch assurance for the remainder of the movie due to the fact that you're like, ‘It decidedly can't get immoderate tougher than that.’ It truly does. But it filled maine with confidence.”

“And I emotion Jon to death,” Holland continued portion looking up to Brand New Day. “I've known him for a truly agelong time, but sharing the acceptable with him arsenic Spider-Man and the Punisher is truthful peculiar due to the fact that we did each other's self-tapes 10 years ago.”

The Odyssey releases successful theaters connected July 17. We’ve got plentifulness much connected the movie present astatine IGN, including a usher astir which format is champion to ticker it successful and however Nolan built a 60-foot Cyclops Pupper alternatively of utilizing CGI.

Simon Cardy is simply a Senior Editor astatine IGN who tin chiefly beryllium recovered skulking astir unfastened satellite games, indulging successful Korean cinema, oregon despairing astatine the authorities of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him connected Bluesky astatine @cardy.bsky.social.