Tom Holland on Friendship, Dancing, and Growing Up in Public

Tom Holland's first film role was The Impossible, and he had no idea what he was doing. Naomi Watts, playing his mother, had to teach him where to stand while also delivering one of the most physically demanding performances of her career. "She could just snap right out of it and say, 'You're blocking me, you're standing in front of the camera.' I would move, she would get right back into it." For Holland, that set became his blueprint for how to behave in the industry — "she was so kind and courteous to the crew."

That early lesson in professionalism has stayed with him. In conversation with Amy Poehler, Holland talks about what he's learned not by asking for advice but by watching: "You are the only person when the camera calls cut who is allowed to be in the middle of the room and do absolutely nothing. You have the perfect vantage point to just watch people work." On The Odyssey, he watched Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway sustain an emotional nine-minute scene shot in three-minute chunks because the IMAX camera ran out of film. "To see them stay in character and stay in that emotion and never waver — it was a masterclass in patience, professionalism, and confidence in themselves."

The Boy Who Danced First