Tom Holland's 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Prep Included Going Undercover In High School [Interview]

When we sat down with Tom Holland on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming, it had only been three months since the world saw him as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War. However, he was clearly already very comfortable in the role of Peter Parker.

Holland talked about the extensive audition process that got him the part, the evolution of Homecoming's script, how he went undercover at a high school in the Bronx to prepare for the movie, and how director Jon Watts put him and his co-stars through a coming of age film festival before shooting. The actor also spoke about Parker's relationships with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), and the Vulture (Michael Keaton), the differences between this film and the previous Spider-man movies, his favorite new Spider-Man gadget, if Peter Parker will dance in this movie, and much much more.

Can you tell us about the audition process?

That was intense, man. I was shooting other movies at the time, so I was lucky because I was sort of preoccupied. I think if I wasn't working, I would've imploded just waiting to hear for this movie. I did two... god, what did I do... two self-takes with Joel Kinnaman cause I was making a movie with him. Then I did two self-takes with Jon Beranthal, and then I did another self-take on my own, and then finally came out here to screen test with Robert and Chris. That for me was a good enough of an experience as itself – I didn't need to get the movie. I was so happy to have just got that far and to have worked with Robert and Chris; I was happy to just sort of go home. But when this job came in, I've never been happier. It was the craziest day of my life; it was insane. And we were waiting around for what felt like months before I found out—

I was going to ask what your audition scene was...

My audition scene, God. The first three weren't from Spider-Man, they were from, um, it might have been from Whiplash, one of the scenes. The scene between Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons. Then there were a few Spider-Man scenes, and it was funny because my agents at one point were like, we don't know who you're auditioning for. I was like, But my lines are for Spider-Man – so who else could I possibly be auditioning for? They were like; we don't know. So I sort of clocked on then that it was for Spider-Man, but they were so sort of made-up scenes. Nothing from the movie. But then my final audition with Robert was a scene that was in Civil War between the two of us.

Can you tell us something about what we're seeing today?

Yeah, today is the first time Pete faces off [against] Toomes and meets Toomes, and it's pretty badass actually. It's changed a lot over the last few weeks, but the version I think Jon has kind of finalized on is pretty awesome.

How has it changed, and how has Jon's process worked with you guys?

The basic script and the arc for my character especially as remained the same. I think the arc for Toomes and the Vulture has changed quite drastically from the first draft that I read, which I think for the better. No, but Jon's cool and he keeps everything fresh, and if there any changes we are all well notified before hand. I mean there's only been a couple of days where we come in, and I've learned the lines for a scene, and he's like, that's not in the movie anymore, it's a different scene. [laughs] But no, he's fantastic to work with.

Was there anything specifically when they were first writing the script where you said "I want Peter to be able to do this. Or I want Spider-Man to do this?"

Yeah, I mean the whole aspect of keeping him grounded and making sure the audience sees a kid as a superhero. We've seen the sort of Norse God, we've seen the billionaire, we've seen the soldier – now we get to see the kid.  And one of the sort of themes of the movie is what would a 15-year-old boy do with super powers. So the opening act to the movie, you see Peter really trying do discover who he is and what he can do, which is something I feel like we haven't really explored massively in the previous movies is seeing Peter make mistakes and try to rectify them, and learn exactly what he can do. And that was something I was very passionate about, and I know Jon was as well – and from the first draft that was always in the script.

Peter is young, and this is the first supervillain he's fighting. What is the relationship with Vulture and Shocker?

I think one of the nicest things about his sort of conflict with the villains in this is how different it is than his conflict with Cap and his side [in Civil War]. Because that was kind of fun, he didn't really know what was going on, and you don't see the Avengers as people who are dangerous. But here the Vulture is definitely a formidable opponent, and he is terrifying. His suit is absolutely terrifying. So the banter picks up a little bit in the beginning, but as soon as Peter realizes he's a little bit out of his depth, there comes a real battle. And it's less about making quick jokes and being funny, and more about saving the day and making sure he does the right thing.

What can you say about how his relationship with Tony Stark has evolved since Civil War? We learned a little about the story earlier, and we know he pops in a lot through the movie, and Spider-Man sort of trusts him and counts on him, so what can you say about Peter and Tony?

I think we're seeing the beginning of a sort of father-son relationship. Obviously Tony hasn't got any kids, and Peter at this point hasn't got any male figures in his life, so I think there's a really lovely dynamic that Robert and I are forming. And, no, let me take that back. I think Robert is more like a big brother than he is a father figure because he picks on him and he is down on him quite a lot. But then there is that level of him caring about him like his own, and Robert has really brought something lovely to the character. It's a very different side of Stark than you've ever seen before.

Speaking of Stark, we were just at the studio and saw a bunch of stuff with regards to the plot of the movie, so sort of the relationship with Peter and Stark is a little more down on Spider-Man getting involved. He wants rescue cats out of trees and do fewer lasers. How does Peter respond to that?

I couldn't answer that because I'd give something away. But that is what I'm talking about where Stark is caring about Peter 'cause he doesn't feel like he's ready yet to be an Avenger, and I think he might have thought what happened in Germany was too much for Spider-Man at that time. So he is very persuasive, and he's constantly trying to get Peter to stay in Queens and save cats out of trees, and stop the burglar, and blah blah blah, and not think of this scale.

Also, we saw the Comic-Con footage, and Michelle, the relationship you two have seems kind of interesting. Can you talk about that? She's sort of busting your balls a lot, and it seems kind of fun. Can you talk about that relationship?

Yeah, Michelle is a very interesting character. She's very quiet, and she's always reading these crazy books, like how to murder someone without no one knowing [laughter] – like Jon has picked the strangest books for her to read. Yeah, we'll be doing a scene with all of the other cast members, and then she'll sort of pitch in, and we'll be like, that was a strange thing to say, and then we'll continue on with our dialogue. It's a very fun character, and Z has really brought a lot of herself to the character, and yeah it's been really fun working with her on set. It's been really cool.

Speaking of gadgets, in Civil War we saw Peter interacting with some pretty old tech. Did you have to have to have any of that explained to you?

I remember doing that scene with Robert, and I asked one of the prop guys, "Can you walk me through what we're doing here?" Because I was unscrewing a DVD player, and Robert was like, "Dude, I don't know what Tony Stark does." [laughter] He's like, just act dude, you got this. It was great.

Coming from Civil War, was there anything you wanted to change or do differently? Obviously, it's the same character, but ya know...

Not really. From Civil War, I felt like I was in such good hands and guided in the perfect direction for where they wanted the character to go. And then, after the fantastic reception we had after the movie came out, I just wanted to make sure I did the same thing, but for a whole movie rather than just three scenes. So I've just been focusing on making sure every scene is full of life and is really useful, and I think that's what we've been doing.

Where did you watch Civil War for the first time, and what was your reaction to seeing yourself as Spider-Man for the first time?

I was terrified watching Civil War for the first time. I watched it with my dad, my mom, my three brothers and my best friend, and we sat in the cinema in the Disney studios in London, and my little brother actually sat right in the front of the cinema, and he's small I couldn't even see him. And as soon as I came on screen, all I could see were his little hands pop up like this... [laughter]... but it was surreal. To be in a movie of that scale with actors of that caliber was really a dream come true, and also an eye opener to the responsibility I've been given, and how lucky I am to be a part of this. But it was an amazing day seeing it for the first time. As soon as it finished, I was like let's watch it again! But they wouldn't let me....

We've seen you playing around on Instagram and dancing and stuff. Are you breaking out any dance moves in this movie?

No no no... no, I'm not in this movie.

You took a really long time to say no...

There's a dance in the movie, but I'm not dancing. Peter Parker can't dance. He can flip and climb up walls and do backflips, but he definitely can't dance.