Tom Holland opens up about the biggest challenge that came with playing Nathan Drake in Uncharted. After years of countless production delays and director changes, the first movie adaptation of the hit Uncharted video game series is finally about to arrive. The film, which premieres this week, stars Holland as adventurer and fortune hunter Nathan Drake in the very early stages of his career. Mark Walberg co-stars as his mentor Sully, while Uncharted's main villain, an opposing treasure hunter, is played by Antonio Banderas. Tati Gabrielle and Sophia Ali also star.
When Holland was first cast as Drake, there was some apprehension from longtime Uncharted fans due to his age and slighter stature. The film's placement as a prequel explains the former, and Holland has spoken openly about the training regimen he undertook to bulk up. Uncharted's release arrives just two months after Holland's last big screen effort, the record-shattering Spider-Man: No Way Home. Though both films required him to perform wild stunts and act opposite CGI recreations, there was a major difference between his two characters that made Uncharted difficult for him.
Speaking to THR in a recent interview about both Uncharted and No Way Home, Holland opened up about the challenges that came from the former. A new project can always bring an actor into untapped territory, and that's exactly what Uncharted did for Holland when it came to Drake's personality. Referring specifically to what was new for him, Holland said:
One of the most difficult things about this character was playing “the cool guy.” Historically, I’ve always sort of played the outsider who doesn’t particularly have many friends and isn’t the cool kid. So Nathan Drake is the complete opposite, and that was something that took me a while to get used to and feel comfortable doing.
Holland is best known for playing nerdy Peter Parker in the MCU, a role that has dominated much of his career so far. In recent year's he's also put in memorable performances in films like Cherry and The Devil All the Time, which have allowed him to break out from the superhero mold. However, as Holland pointed out, it's still rare that he gets to play someone who is easily characterized as a cool person. Therefore, Nathan Drake posed a challenge for Holland that few might've predicted, but still likely served as quite the learning experience.
This makes his Uncharted performance particularly exciting. Holland has played Peter six times now, so audiences are very familiar with how he acts when he's playing an earnest hero. Now it's more thrilling to see him try something else to stretch his acting chops even more. Because he's playing another well-known character, there will be a lot of eyes on how Holland fares as Drake in Uncharted. Hopefully, all his prep work and willingness to try new things will have paid off.
Source: THR
