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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Given all of the excitement for the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Dayit’s fair to say that Tom Holland remains one of the most beloved actors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has great chemistry with just about everyone, which is why the next Spidey film will have him acting alongside Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner. Of course, before Holland could get this sweet superhero gig in the first place, he had to demonstrate chemistry with the most important Marvel actor of them all: Robert Downey Jr.
Because Spider-Man was such an important role, Tom Holland didn’t have a one-and-done audition process. Instead, it was a multi-part process that culminated in one final hurdle: a screen test with Downey. Needless to say, this put extreme pressure on Holland, who was only 19 at the time. He ended up dealing with that stress in an unfortunate but understandable way. The night before his big screen test, he emptied out the hotel minibar, going on a bender and ultimately getting busted by his new employers!
Here’s To Being Spider-Man
This weird story emerged last year when Tom Holland appeared on the Rich Roll Podcast. He mentioned that “When I did my first screen test with Downey, the night before, I polished off the minibar. And Marvel found out about that.” While drinking laws are different in Holland’s native England, his tale raised the eyebrows of many fans here in America, where you have to be 21 or older in order to purchase alcohol. Here was Marvel’s greatest icon admitting to going on an underage bender before the biggest audition of his life!
The host riffed about Marvel being akin to the Eye of Sauron in their ability to see and know everything. As for Holland, he couldn’t remember whether he told Kevin Feige or whether Feige told him. “But whenever it came up in conversation, he was like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know about that. We asked the hotel.” Holland then relayed his natural reaction to that announcement: “Oh, sh*t!” Of course, as he laughingly relayed to his host, this particular story obviously had a happy ending. “Still got the job, though.”
Sauce Man No More
Eventually, this story had an even happier ending when it came to the actor’s health. Over time, Tom Holland realized he was an alcoholic, and he stopped drinking entirely in 2022. In a recent GQ interview, he described how his habits never led to any wild parties or crazy shenanigans you might normally expect from a celeb. “I was always pretty sensible. I just drank too much.” In a full circle moment, he obliquely referenced his minibar bender before the screen test with Downey, saying, “I wasn’t necessarily the nightclub-going person as much as I could sit at home in my hotel room and finish a minibar and go to work the next day.”
Fortunately, Holland was able to fully kick the habit. He had help with his fellow Marvel icon and fiancée Zendaya, who has always been completely sober. Really, he deserves props for being so honest about his struggle: the only reason we know about Holland’s alcoholism at all is that he was so open with his struggle and why he thought it was so important to finally quit the sauce. That honesty may not be as exciting as watching him swing through the city or punch bad guys in the face, but it might just help Holland do exactly what Spider-Man does every day: save as many lives as he possibly can.
