'Spider-Man: No Way Home': Why Willem Dafoe thought Tom Holland was a 'monster'
Willem Dafoe and Tom Holland face off on the big screen in Spider-Man: No Homecoming . But off screen, there is only admiration between the two stars. Dafoe sat down with fellow Spider-Man villain actors Jamie Foxx and Alfred Molina for a few No Coming Home bonus sequences, where they took a few minutes to rave about Holland's talents and enthusiasm. However, Dafoe also jokingly called Holland a freak. Here's why.
Tom Holland has been impressing his fans and co-stars with Spider-Man stunts since day one
Holland brings a lot to the table as an actor. At 25, he's already shown his range with a more serious role in Cherry and a bit of a lighthearted role in the Spider-Man movies. Holland has also proven his ability to channel emotions when needed. Plus, to top it off, he's a trained dancer and an excellent stuntman.
When Holland first auditioned for his role as Spider-Man in 2016's Captain America: Civil War , he impressed Marvel execs with a seamless leap into the air as his entrance. He's done plenty of his own cinematic stunts since. Although he couldn't perform all the stunts for safety reasons, Holland said he tries to do as many stunts as possible.
“I love doing my own stunts. It comes with a nice adrenaline rush,” he told National News in 2019. “If it makes the movie better, then I'm all for it.
Willem Dafoe gushed over Tom Holland's agility in 'Spider-Man: No Way Home'
Dafoe, Molina, and Foxx all came to Spider-Man: No Homecoming as franchise veterans. Dafoe and Molina played Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus in the original Spider-Man films, while Foxx played Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 . But even though they had witnessed Spider-Man in action before, the actors were still in awe of Spider-Man himself.
In a Spider-Man: No Homecoming bonus clip shared by Digital Spy, Dafoe said Holland was "very impressive" as a web hero.
"Physically he's very agile and is really good at stunts and fighting," the actor added, even jokingly calling Holland a "monster" for his extreme agility.
"He's really clean, he's really good. Truly beautiful,” Dafoe concluded.
Foxx also weighed in on Holland's ability to fill the "big shoes" left behind by former Spidey actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.
“[It is] the young child of him in his eyes. When we first got on set, I said, 'Look at that guy's eyes,'" Foxx explained. "And then here's the thing, you fill big shoes because we grew up with Tobey. So, you say to yourself, will there be [someone better]? And here is this young man with this new face who is really on point in every aspect.
Willem Dafoe is also no stranger to impressive stunts
Dafoe had plenty of his own impressive stunt moments in Spider-Man: No Homecoming . As seen in the video above, the actor admitted that he would only reprise his role in the film if he could be involved in the action.
"Doing this physical stuff was important to me," Dafoe said.
Holland also had nothing but good things to say about Dafoe. Speaking to Marvel.com, the Uncharted star praised Dafoe's versatility.
“I've never worked with an actor who could give a director so many options. He has this one speech in the movie where he talks about Peter's kind of existential crisis,” Holland said. “He must have done the scene 30 times, and they were all different. »