Hi. My name’s Daniel. And I’m a clout-chaser.
Spider-Man: No Way Home has broken more records than that arthritic DJ I went to see; including having the third-biggest worldwide opening of all time, behind Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, so, naturally, the first thing I was going to do, in a desperate attempt for some views and clicks, I’m writing about – YOU GUESSED IT…
Arthritic DJs. Spider-Man.
Having seen No Way Home (albeit, through tear-filled eyes) it’s obvious that Tom Holland is the perfect choice to play our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, but there are several actors he beat* in order to get the role.
*By which I mean he beat them to the role via a serious of auditions; not physically, with his fists.
I don’t think a single day goes by where I don’t crack open a fortune cookie, à la Lindsay Lohan’s Freaky Friday, in the hope that I’ve swapped bodies with Tom Holland so I can play Spider-Man, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Here’s ten other actors who almost landed the role…
Originally, Marvel and Sony were looking for a new Spider-Man; someone younger than Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker (who, by the way, definitely, definitely, definitely does not show up in No Way Home). They wanted someone who could play a 15-16-year-old; who struggles with the every day troubles that a teenager would face, like school, crushes and Minecraft. (Yes, I was a loser at school. And I still am, to be fair.)
In early 2015, the likes of Timothée Chalamet, Liam James, Logan Lerman, Dylan O’Brien and Nat Wolff were being considered, until six other actors were through to the final rounds of auditions. (I know – the internet collectively just broke down in tears when they found out we could have had even more Timothée-Zendaya movies.)
Out of the thousands of actors who auditioned for the role, six actors were shortlisted to go for screen tests; Asa Butterfield, Judah Lewis, Matthew Lintz, Charlie Plummer, Charlie Rowe, and of course, Tom Holland.
Initially, these actors did screen tests with Robert Downey Jr., given Peter Parker’s heavy interactions with Iron Man in Civil War, and according to Kevin Feige, both Asa and Tom were strong frontrunners for the role, and after another screen test with Chris Evans, the role went to Tom Holland.
And there you have it – Tom Holland landed the role of Peter Parker. Whoever that is. I’ve never heard of him. (That’s just a little No Way Home banter for you. Am I funny yet? Please say I am.)