Spider-Man: No Way Home - Zendaya and Tom Holland on this week's new blockbuster
Zendaya and Tom Holland in Spider Man: No Way Home.
It’s hard to get a word in edgeways when chatting to Tom Holland and Zendaya. The talkative stars, both 25, play superhero Spider-Man and his love interest MJ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and are also rumoured to be a couple in real life.
Sat together ahead of the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home – a powerful culmination of Peter Parker’s MCU origin story, based on the comic book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko – the pair giggle and rib each other.
California native Zendaya spends a good thirty seconds trying – hilariously – to impersonate Holland, who hails from Kingston upon Thames (he says she’s been learning some Cockney rhyming slang recently, too).
She says: “I find I do this thing when I’m around him for a while where I speak with British inflections, but not the British accent, which is really strange.”
Meanwhile, Holland discusses a birthday tribute he posted to his co-star on Instagram in September. Amid speculation they are in a relationship, he shared a picture – that shows him wearing the Spider-Man costume, minus the mask, while Zendaya leans over his shoulder to take the snap in the mirror – with the caption: “My MJ, have the happiest of birthdays. Gimme a call when your up xxx.”
Euphoria and Dune star Zendaya then commented, “Calling now” along with a heart emoji – and the post has been liked by over 19 million users of the social media site.
“It’s crazy, but something we try not to think about all that much,” reflects Holland, who began his acting career aged 12, playing Billy Elliot on the West End. “We’re here to do a job, we’re here to promote a movie that we love and we’re proud of, and we’re very lucky that we have fans that are so supportive and so invested in our lives.
“We’re very careful with how much of our personal lives we share, so everything is something that goes through, not planning, but you’re like, ‘Hey, can I post this?’ and you’re like, ‘Let me just have a look’. And then we’re zooming in in the background making sure there’s…”
“No spoilers,” chimes in Zendaya (there are a few times the affable duo finish each other’s sentences).
“Nothing we’d get in trouble for,” echoes Holland, with a cheeky smile. “There’s a process to it. But it’s sometimes nice to share some of your life with the fans, and it’s nice to see that they reciprocated that love.”
As for what to expect from the latest instalment in the franchise, here’s what we can reveal about the story, spoiler-free. The world now knows 17-year-old Peter Parker is the friendly neighbourhood hero, so the high school senior’s life is in the public eye, causing chaos and danger for him and his loved ones.
When Peter, along with his ‘accomplices’ MJ and Ned (Jacob Batalon), don’t get into college because of the trouble caused by Spider-Man’s antics, he pays Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) a visit. He hopes his fellow superhero will be able to help and make the world forget he is the person behind the Spider-Man mask.
But things don’t exactly go to plan and instead, a spell cast by Doctor Strange means everyone who knows Peter is Spider-Man is brought into the MCU from every other universe – including formidable enemies. Will Peter be able to successfully face them off, and also protect his future with MJ and Ned?
There will be plenty of drama and action, and perhaps some darker moments, but what really stands out about Holland’s third solo Spider-Man movie (the first was released in 2017) is how laugh-out-loud funny it is. The script is pacey and full of quips, and there is so much great energy between the cast on screen.
“Honestly, if it’s all three of us – you, me, and Jacob – it’s like, we’re not getting any work done,” recalls Zendaya, when asked about their favourite moments on set together.
“We’re like a ticking time bomb,” Holland agrees. He recalls how, even when watching esteemed thespians like Alfred Molina and Willem Dafoe (who play villains Doc Ock and Green Goblin respectively) do serious scenes, he and his young co-stars would be laughing in the background, trying to hold it together.
Putting the fun aside, what is it about these characters that they like to delve into?
“I have a side to Peter Parker that I got to show, which I can’t talk about, but it was so fun doing it,” teases Holland.
“It was scary. Jon [Watts, director] would be like ‘Cut!’ and then he would come over and he’d be like, ‘Are you okay?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know!’” Even though she admits it can “sometimes be very difficult because there’s limited information”, Zendaya notes how fun she finds working with the special effects.
“I love this feeling of being a little kid, and you’re basically playing make-believe; that’s what we do for a living, but it’s on another scale when it’s just blue screens, and you’re holding something in your hand, it’s just like a green thing, and they’ll make it something else later.
“He’s like, ‘Here’s the scenario, here’s what’s happening, and action’, and then you’re just like, ‘Okay everyone, just pretend that everything’s there,’ which is actually really fun.” “It’s like playing expensive charades,” quips Holland.
The actor – who has also starred in several Marvel films – expresses how much he enjoyed his scenes with Zendaya too.
“My favourite thing about MJ in this film, that is something we haven’t seen massively in the previous two films, is how nurturing she is,” he offers, grinning.
“She really does become a shoulder for Peter to cry on, and I really like that we’ve been able to build our relationship like that throughout the films.”
- Spider-Man: No Way Home is released in cinemas on Friday, December 17
