Tom Holland - Actors, Timeline and Facts

Thomas Stanley Holland was born on June 1, 1996, in London, England. He was raised by his parents, Nicola Elizabeth, and Dominic Holland. While his father, Dominic, is a comedian, his mother is working as a photographer. As a kid, he used to spend a lot of time with his brothers Sam, Harry, and Patrick.

Tom went to ‘Donhead Preparatory School,’ an independent day school situated in Wimbledon, southwest London. Right from his school days, Tom exhibited keen interest in dance and hence started attending dance classes. But he was bullied by his schoolmates for having a liking towards dance.

After completing his school education, he attended ‘Wimbledon College,’ from where he graduated in the year 2012. He then attended the prestigious ‘BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology,’ from where he learnt the nuances of acting and dancing.

During the 2006 ‘Richmond Dance Festival,’ Tom was seen dancing at ‘Nifty Feet Dance School,’ where he was spotted by a choreographer named Lynne Page, who was working as an assistant to the popular choreographer, Peter Darling. Looking at his dancing skills, Lynne Page somehow knew that Tom would later become a popular entertainer and hence, he took Tom under his wings.

Tom was auditioned on eight occasions and was trained for two years, after which he landed the opportunity to play Billy’s best friend Michael in ‘Billy Elliot the Musical.’ Since it was his ‘West End’ debut, he gained popularity as a theatre artist.

After playing an important role in ‘Billy Elliot the Musical’ on June 28, 2008, he went on to play the titular role in the same musical on September 8, 2008. His performance was praised by the critics and Tom started gaining popularity as an actor. As a result, he started appearing in many television shows and interviews.

Tom made his television debut soon after playing the titular role in ‘Billy Elliot the Musical.’ He and his co-star Tanner Pflueger were interviewed by ‘Channel 5’ for one of its news shows. In the following year, Tom was cast in the show ‘The Feel Good Factor.’ At the show’s premiere, Tom performed the popular ‘Angry Dance’ from the musical and was later interviewed by Myleene Klass, who had hosted the premiere.

On March 8, 2010, Tom and other actors, who had portrayed Billy Elliot, were invited to 10 Downing Street in order to mark the fifth anniversary of the famous musical. There, he got an opportunity to meet the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown. On March 31, a special fifth-anniversary show of the musical was showcased and Tom was chosen to play the lead in that particular show.

In 2011, Tom made his film debut when he lent his voice to a character named Sho in the English version of the popular Japanese animated fantasy film ‘Arrietty.’ His major breakthrough came in the year 2012 when he was cast alongside actors like Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts in the critically acclaimed disaster drama film, ‘The Impossible.’

‘The Impossible’ went on to become a successful film and was played at the ‘Toronto International Film Festival.’ Tom, who played Lucas Bennett in the film, was praised for his acting skills, with many saying that he could win an Oscar for his performance. Though he did not win an Oscar, he did manage to win other major awards and nominations.

In 2013, he appeared in a speculative drama film titled ‘How I Live Now’ and was also seen in a short film titled ‘Moments.’ In the following year, he lent his voice for the British-American drama film ‘Locke,’ which starred Tom Hardy in the main role. He also played a cameo in the filmed version of ‘Billy Elliot the Musical.’

In 2015, he played the younger version of Thomas Nickerson in the adventure-drama film, ‘In the Heart of the Sea.’ In the same year, he appeared as Gregory Cromwell in the British television series, ‘Wolf Hall.’

2016 turned out to be a great year for Tom as he played interesting characters in four popular flicks, namely ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ ‘The Lost City of Z,’ ‘A Monster Calls,’ and ‘Edge of Winter.’ In ‘Captain America,’ he played Peter Parker, which is one of the most popular recurring film roles in the history of Hollywood.

In 2017, he reprised his role as Peter Parker in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming.’ He also appeared in a couple of other movies, namely ‘Pilgrimage’ and ‘The Current War.’ While he played Brother Diarmuid in ‘Pilgrimage,’ he portrayed the famous American businessman Samuel Insull in ‘The Current War.’ In the same year, he also appeared as himself in the popular reality competition TV series, ‘Lip Sync Battle.’

In 2018, he once again reprised his role as Spider-Man in the Marvel Studios’ superhero film, ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’ Tom has a host of upcoming films under his belt. Though he is growing from strength to strength as an actor, Tom says his ultimate goal is to become a director in Hollywood.

Tom Holland has lent his voice to a couple of popular video games. In 2016, he lent his voice to a video game called ‘Lego Marvel Avengers.’ He then went on to do the same in a couple of other video games titled ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ and ‘Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2.’

He appeared in a short film titled ‘Tweet,’ which he had also directed. Tom Holland aims at becoming a director in near future. For now, he wants to take up challenging and unique acting roles, something which he has been doing for quite some time now.

Tom Holland received many awards and nominations for his first acting role in a film. For his excellent performance as a 12-year-old Lucas Bennett in ‘The Impossible,’ he has won a total of nine prestigious awards.

Some of the awards that he won for ‘The Impossible’ include, ‘Spotlight Award,’ ‘Best Youth Performance,’ ‘Breakthrough Performance - Male,’ ‘Young British Performer of the Year,’ ‘Best Male Newcomer,’ and ‘Best Performance in a Feature Film.’

In 2016, he won the ‘Breakthrough Performance of the Year’ at the ‘Golden Schmoes Awards’ for his performance in ‘Captain America: Civil War.’ In 2017, he won ‘Rising Star Award’ at the prestigious ‘British Academy Film Awards’ (BAFTA).

He then won ‘Best Performance by a Younger Actor’ at the 2017 ‘Saturn Awards’ for ‘Captain America: Civil War.’ In the same year, he won ‘Choice Summer Movie Actor’ at the popular ‘Teen Choice Awards’ for his role in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming.’

Tom Holland is close to his siblings and his father. Along with his siblings, he sponsors a non-profit organization called ‘The Brothers Trust,’ which raises money for charitable causes. Apart from dancing, Tom also practices gymnastics. He spends his free time watching his favorite football club ‘Arsenal F.C.’ He resides in London, along with his pet dog, Tessa.