
Tom Holland’s recent role in upcoming Apple TV+ series, The Crowded Roomtook a toll on him which eventually led him to work on his mental health.
The 26-year-old actor revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly published on May 9th, 2023, that he had been sober for one year and four months.
The Uncharted star also serves as an executive producer on Akiva Goldsman’s project. Holland plays a shy, anti-social youngster from Upstate New York who is imprisoned in 1979 following a shooting at the Rockefeller Center.
The Spider-Man: No Way Home actor revealed that while filming the episode, he was able to better understand his own mental health, the people in his life, and the sad events that led up to the occurrence.
“Learning about mental health and the power of it, and speaking to psychiatrists about [the characters] Danny and Billy’s struggles, has been something that has been so informative to my own life,” he said, noting that he’d become better at “recognising triggers” and stressors, such as social media.
Holland went on to say that while he is “no stranger” to the “physical aspects” of the job, the “mental aspects” “really beat me up.”
“It took a long time for me to recover afterwards, to sort of get back to reality,” he acknowledged.
Holland recounted a time after nine months of filming when he felt the urge to detach himself from his character.
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“I was seeing myself in him, but in my personal life,” the actor 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.”
Tom Holland also added that he hopes that The Crowded Room will lead the viewers “have more respect and more sympathy for people who are going through mental health issues.”