Global Courant
Tom Holland is clarifying recent remarks about taking a year-long acting break following the brutal filming of his Apple TV+ crime thriller series “The Crowded Room.” The “Spider-Man” star announced his acting break during an interview with “Extra” that hit online at the same time his new show was earning extremely negative reviews from television critics. Holland said on “Live With Kelly and Mark” that bad reviews had nothing to do with his decision to break from acting. The choice was made when “The Crowded Room” wrapped filming last year, meaning Holland is already months into his Hollywood hiatus.
“It’s so funny. Obviously, ‘The Crowded Room’ came out. We didn’t have very favorable reviews,” Holland said. “So the press story was that I have taken this year off because of the reviews. But I’m eight months into my year off. I’ve been chilling at home in London, going to Grand Prixes, playing golf…”
Holland doubled down on the negative “Crowded Room” reviews by praising his supporters. “I would like to say a massive thank you to my fans, and the people who have seen the show because we’re at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes,” he said. “I feel so grateful that I have a wonderful community of people that support me and are there for me, so I’m honored and really excited for the rest of the show to come out.”
As of this article posting, “The Crowded Room” boasts a 91% fan score on Rotten Tomatoes but an awful 26% score from critics. Variety television critic Alison Herman called the series “unfortunately empty” in her review.
In “The Crowded Room,” Holland plays a young man who is arrested in summer 1979 due to his involvement in a shooting at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Holland balanced acting and producing duties on “The Crowded Room” and told “Extra” that juggling both responsibilities while playing a character with an intense mental health struggle pushed him to his breaking point.
“I’m no stranger to hard work,” Holland said. “I’ve lived by the idea that hard work is good work. Then again, the show broke me. There came a time where I needed a break and disappeared and went to Mexico for a week and had time on a beach and laid low. I’m now taking a year off, and that is a result of how difficult this show was. I am excited to see how it turns out. I feel like our hard work wasn’t in vain.”
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly last month, Holland revealed that working on “The Crowded Room” led to a “bit of a meltdown” in his personal life.
“I was seeing myself in (the character), but in my personal life,” Holland said. “I remember having a bit of a meltdown at home and thinking, like, ‘I’m going to shave my head. I need to shave my head because I need to get rid of this character.’ And, obviously, we were mid-shooting, so I decided not to… It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.”
Holland confirmed to EW that he has since been sober for one year and four months. He credited the Apple TV+ series with shifting his views on his own mental health. “The Crowded Room” is now streaming on Apple TV+.
