Tom Holland Had A Hard Time Shedding Uncharted Role For Spider-Man 3

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Tom Holland Had A Hard Time Shedding Uncharted Role For Spider-Man 3

Tom Holland reveals he had a hard time leaving Uncharted’s Nathan Drake behind while filming the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Spider-Man 3.

Tom Holland reveals he had a hard time forgetting his Uncharted role while filming Spider-Man 3. One of Hollywood’s most in-demand young performers, Holland has a slate of highly-anticipated films which run the gamut from character studies to big blockbusters. Two of his most anticipated projects are the adaption of Uncharted, in which he plays Nathan Drake, and his return as the title character in Spider-Man 3.

The two films have taken up the bulk of Holland’s schedule behind the scenes as well. After Uncharted was shut down on its first day of filming due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the video game movie completed production in a period stretching from July to October. Holland then had just three days of downtime before beginning the work of shooting Spider-Man 3 in Atlanta. In new remarks, Holland confesses the transition from Nathan Drake back to Peter Parker was a little uneven at first.

Speaking with Screen Daily to promote his upcoming movie Cherry, Holland recalls he initially had some difficulty switching from Nathan’s posture and general demeanor to Peter’s. The discrepancy was noticed by producer Amy Pascal, Spider-Man 3 director Jon Watts, and ultimately Holland himself. You can read Holland’s quote, in which he describes a telling difference between the two protagonists, below.

I was doing this scene [in Spider-Man 3] where I’m walking into this building and there is this cool cinematic shot pushing in behind me and Amy Pascal took me aside and said, ‘Why are you walking like that? You’re walking like a man; you need to walk like a boy.’ I went back and watched the monitor, and I could see I was walking with a swagger and confidence. Jon Watts was like, ‘It’s fine, it’s Nathan Drake. We’ll iron him out and get Peter Parker back.’

Holland’s comments point to how different Nathan and Peter are, despite the surface similarity of both being young heroes who find themselves in difficult situations. The anecdote the actor shares appears to indicate the big screen version of Nathan will possess a fair amount of confidence in his own abilities that will, in turn, translate to the way he moves. Holland has previously spoken about how he relies on a non-verbal language to communicate the differences between his portrayals, walking in a loose and absentminded way to make his Peter Parker seem younger. It looks like he temporarily lost sight of that distinction, which is understandable given he essentially worked on Uncharted and Spider-Man 3 without interruption.

Though some Uncharted players remain unconvinced Holland is the right choice to portray Nathan Drake, it’s clear the actor is trying to move away from some of the performances he’s been known for throughout his career. Even beyond his turn as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Webbed Wonder, Holland has earned praise for playing youthful leads who still maintain their innocence in the face of unimaginable adversity. Beginning with The Devil All the Time, a gritty drama that delved into dark themes, that reliable portrayal has begun to shift. It’s a process that will continue with Cherry and Uncharted, guaranteeing audiences are primed to see a new side of Holland beyond his work in Spider-Man 3.