Tom Holland has spent the last handful of years playing Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and now he's trying his hand at portraying another classic character. The young star brings life to PlayStation icon Nathan Drake in Uncharted, which is based on the popular Naughty Dog video games. Looking to build off the record-breaking success of Spider-Man, the hope is Holland can lead another franchise at Sony for years to come.
Screen Rant spoke with Holland to discuss his Uncharted fandom, playing Fall Guys while on the set, similarities between him and Nate, and much more.
Screen Rant: I love Uncharted. I’m so excited for this movie, but I love that you were playing Uncharted between Spider-Man: Homecoming takes. How wild is that?
Tom Holland: Yeah, it's kind of crazy. I just remember shooting Spider-Man: Homecoming. We were shooting the sequence where Spider-Man falls through the uh... what's that big tall, pointy thing called? The Washington Monument! Sorry, sorry! We were waiting for the lighting to be set up, because there was some sort of gag they were doing and we were like, "Let's play Uncharted." And then we basically completed it in like a week, because we were obsessed. The video game is so cinematic, and the story is so intriguing that it was obvious that it needed to be made into a film.
So what were you doing between takes of Uncharted? What's the foreshadowing of what's going to happen in a few years?
Tom Holland: Truth be told, we were actually playing this game called Fall Guys, which is like this really stupid game where you're these, kind of, little people and you run around and fall off of stuff, so not nearly as exciting as playing Uncharted. But in all fairness, I had so much work to do on this film, that I didn't have much waiting around in my trailer.
How are you at Fall Guys? That's like a controller-throwing game for me. That game frustrates me so much.
Tom Holland: Yeah, I mean, I am not very good. If I keep losing something, I do have a bit of a temper. So I was sort of banned from Fall Guys in the trailer because I never won. I was never good enough to win.
That's so funny. So Tom Holland is going to be starting in the Fall Guys movie in a few years.
Tom Holland: Yeah, me and Chris Pratt.
What Nathan Drake quality do you feel like, if any, that you picked up from this movie? Of course, I feel like the bartending scene in the beginning, that was when it really snapped into focus for me that you were Nathan Drake. Any skills you picked up?
Tom Holland: I mean, I think the similarity between Nate and I is I'm very adventurous. I really like doing things that make me feel uncomfortable, whether it's scuba diving or surfing or things like that, where I feel like I'm out of my comfort zone. So yeah, it would probably be that, my sense of adventure. All of my friends are always trying to get me to calm down a little bit. Especially Jack, my poor security guard. I'm always doing stupid s***.
What was the most pressure to prepare for Nathan Drake, Peter Parker or Lip Sync Battle?
Tom Holland: Lip Sync Battle was pretty stressful if I'm honest. Because no one really knew who I was back then and I was really worried that it gonna be like, "Who is this guy dancing in the rain with Zendaya? Like who is this person?" But I think preparing for Spider-Man, I was too young and naive to understand the pressure I was under, which I think was a really good thing. Filming Uncharted, I'm older now, and I'm aware of the public exposure that comes with making these kinds of films. So the pressure felt a lot more heavy while making Uncharted.
Nathan Drake loves his treasure. He has the prized possession of his ring from his brother, what is the most prized treasure from any job you've ever had?
Tom Holland: I've got a few things. I think the most meaningful possession I have is, I have the clapperboard from my last shot of my first film, The Impossible. That film really sort of kick-started my career, and I have had friends from that film that I've kept forever. So I owe a lot to Juan Antonio Bayona, and Belon, and all of the producers, and Naomi and Ewan. I cherish that clapperboard.
