LONDON, ENGLAND: Tom Holland has been open about his mental health, sobriety, and choice of avoiding social media in the wake of his moving performance as Danny Sullivan in 'The Crowded Room.' During an appearance on 'On Purpose with Jay Shetty' podcast, Holland expressed his dissatisfaction with the way each of those life milestones was covered by the media.
With his Apple TV+ miniseries 'The Crowded Room,' Holland aimed to reinvent his persona. But regrettably, the show did not receive the kind of enthusiastic response that one had hoped for. The 'Uncharted' star took the criticism quite graciously and maintained his optimism. He had also mentioned taking a year-long acting hiatus after the show, but the media evidently assumed that was because of the unfavorable reviews.
'I was just obsessed with it'
As per Entertainment Weekly, Holland, 27, apparently claimed that an especially distressing incident took place after he announced his social media break. Holland admitted, "I was having a really hard time with the job just because of how taxing it was, the emotional capacity that I was having to get to every day. And I decided to delete my Instagram because I just felt like I was so addicted to this kind of false version of my life that it was just taking over."
The 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' actor continued by stating that his addiction to social media was becoming a problem. "I was just obsessed with it. And I was obsessed to find out what people were saying." As a result, the Marvel star decided to quit social media entirely.
Holland continued, "I decided to make an announcement, which unfortunately we have to do. I tried to position myself and say like, 'I'm taking a break from social media because I feel like my mental health will benefit from it.' And the thing that really upset me is the press ran with that and they tried to make out that I was having this mental breakdown. And what upset me was if I was having a mental breakdown, that's not for you to report on."
'Took the story in the wrong direction'
The Marvel actor continued by saying that he was upset with the way the media had reacted to his decision to stop using social media. "They took the story in the wrong direction," Holland remarked. "They portrayed mental health in a derogatory manner. They were saying, They painted this negative light on mental health. Rather than saying, 'It's okay that he's doing it, so we should all feel okay to do it too,' they were saying, 'Oh look, he's not the perfect happy-go-lucky kid you think he is. He's having a nervous breakdown in New York.'"
Holland reacted similarly to press accounts of his year-long acting hiatus. In a previous interview with EW, Holland revealed that he had initially intended to take a break after starring in the back-to-back blockbusters 'Uncharted' and 'Spider-Man: No Way Home,' but that he had to cancel that plan after receiving the call for 'The Crowded Room.' After that particularly demanding shoot, he made the decision to unwind.
Later in his interview with Shetty, Holland clarified, "It's only a break from acting because I'm an actor. It's not the acting itself. I just have been so lucky that in my life I've been working so much. I just wanted to take a break. I just wanted to be in one place for a while. I wanted to be with my friends, be with my family, move into my house."
How did the acting hiatus result for Tom Holland?
The 'Spider-Man' star said the sabbatical has been extremely helpful for his mental health as well as his ability to accept adulthood. "I've done so much of my growing up on the road," Holland remarked. "I needed to do a lot of growing up at home. Paying my water bill, paying my council tax, and sorting out my bins and all that sort of stuff that they don't teach you at school."
Holland concluded by saying, "I think there should be a lesson at school that's called 'Life,' which is like laundry, basic cooking. Like I didn't realize you had to pay for your water. I just thought that was a luxury of living in England. Yeah, the water comes out the sky and then it comes out your tap. I was so behind on my water bill. I didn't realize, I'm up to date now. Don't worry."
