How Tom Holland First Met Robert Downey Jr.

Screen Rant

What Tom Holland's First Meeting With Robert Downey Jr. Was Like

By Matthew Erao

Published Jul 5, 2017

Spider-Man: Homecoming star Tom Holland recounts the (funny) story of when he first met who he believed was Robert Downey Jr.

Spider-Man: Homecoming star Tom Holland was so starstruck when he first met Robert Downey, Jr., he didn't even realize it wasn't actually him. Though any movie starring Spider-Man is likely to do well at the box office, Homecoming will have a number of other factors in its favor. Thanks to the deal between Sony and Marvel, Spidey now exists in the MCU. Not only does that mean that characters like Captain America can cameo in Homecoming, but the new wall crawler already has plenty of buzz thanks to his appearance last year in Captain America: Civil War. Of course, the other big boon for Homecoming is a sizable appearance by Iron Man.

Robert Downey, Jr. has long been one of the feathers in the cap of the MCU, so including him in Homecoming is a masterstroke. Though he always seems on the verge of leaving the Marvel family, we know that RDJ probably won't retire from the MCU anytime soon. Likewise, Holland has a long future in the MCU ahead of him. Given the chemistry that we've already seen between Peter and Tony, there's a good chance they'll share the screen again someday. And while the two actors are bound to be thick as thieves at this point, it wasn't too long ago that they'd never met.

Speaking with Extra, Holland revealed the funny story of when he first met his future Spider-Man: Homecoming costar. As it turns out, he was so floored about the possibility of meeting RDJ that he didn't even realize he was talking to a lookalike:

Peter and Tony talk in the back of the car in Spider-Man: Homecoming

“I walk into this audition and I see him and freak out a little bit inside. I go up to him… and I’m starting to get really breathy and I’m looking at him going, ‘Wow, you’re different in person. You don’t look the same at all.’ Then Robert walked in and I realized I’d been talking to his stunt double the whole time.”

The story is almost too perfect, as it seems like the type of thing that could have played out in an alternate version of Civil War. Peter, excited to finally meet his idol Tony Stark, doesn't realize he's actually talking to a lookalike the superhero uses to throw off his enemies—or overzealous fans. It's that sort of unbridled enthusiasm that has led to viewers hailing Holland's Peter Parker as the best yet. And those positive Homecoming reactions have more than warmed Holland's heart.

With Homecoming debuting in theaters stateside tomorrow evening, U.S. fans will finally get the chance to see the web slinger's first solo adventure in the MCU. Already, critics are showering the movie in praise, resulting in Homecoming being Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. While the blockbuster movie season has produced a few duds so far, Spider-Man: Homecoming looks like it will continue the 2017 trend of superhero movies impressing critics and fans alike.