LONDON, ENGLAND: Tom Holland is being candid about his difficulties before beginning his sobriety journey. The 'Spider-Man' actor, who has been clean for more than a year, recently considered how much he used to drink, observing that it negatively affected his day-to-day activities. The 27-year-old described how, in his experience, he would "drink and drink and drink and drink," until he hit a breaking point.
On Monday's (July 10) episode of the 'On Purpose with Jay Shetty' podcast, the 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' actor discussed his choice to stop drinking, calling it "the best thing I've ever done." He said that the start of his sober journey involved a little too much indulgence throughout the previous year's holiday season. Holland is now taking a break from acting after finishing 'The Crowded Room', as per E! News.
'All I could think about was having a drink'
On the July 10 episode of 'On Purpose with Jay Shetty,' Holland admitted that he was certainly hooked on booze. "I was definitely addicted to alcohol, not shying away from that at all." The actor continued, "I think that anyone that has a beer everyday has probably got a little bit of a problem." He further added, "And then you would just reach that moment where you're like 'Wow, I shouldn't have had that last beer.' And you wake up the next day and you have a terrible headache."
Holland initially gave up the bottle in January 2022 to partake in the enduringly popular "dry January" tradition, which encourages individuals to abstain from alcohol for a month, usually after a busy holiday drinking season. But once he quit drinking, the 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' actor realized there was more happening. "All I could think about was having a drink. That’s all I could think about," he conceded.
His strong urges began to worry him. "It just really scared me. I just was like, 'Wow, maybe. Maybe I have a little bit of an alcohol thing.' So I sort of decided to punish myself and say, 'I’ll do February as well. I’ll do two months off. If I can do two months off, then I can prove to myself that I don’t have a problem.' " But as he continued with his alcohol break, the strain of England's drinking-centric culture grew stronger.
"Two months go by and I was still really struggling. I felt like I couldn’t be social," Holland added. "I felt like I couldn’t go to the pub and have a lime soda. I couldn’t go out for dinner. I was really, really struggling and I started to really worry that maybe I had an alcohol problem."
As his birthday last month drew closer, he claimed to have at last turned the corner. "I said to myself, 'If I can do six months without alcohol, then I can prove to myself that I don’t have a problem.' And by the time I got to June 1, I was the happiest I've ever been in my life," 'The Crowded Room' actor said, citing several benefits that came from giving up alcohol.
'I felt healthier, I felt fitter'
To emulate the "ritual of cracking something open and sharing it with friends and drinking it—whether it's sparkling water or a beer," Tom has discovered really good replacements things" instead of alcohol. And ever since he stopped drinking, his health has only improved.
"I could sleep better. I could handle problems better," he recalled. "Things that would go wrong on set, that would normally set me off, I could take in my stride. I had such better mental clarity. I felt healthier, I felt fitter." He questioned why he didn't give up drinking earlier. "I just sort of said to myself, like, 'Why? Why am I enslaved to this drink? Why am I so obsessed by the idea of having this drink?'" he pondered.
The devoted sports enthusiast was forced to give up a favorite pleasure because of his sobriety: rugby viewing. "I just felt so much pressure, and this is one of the [reasons] why I’ve sort of distanced myself from the rugby community 'cause so much of it is about how much can you drink," the actor said. He said, "Let’s get you as drunk as possible," and then swiftly added that he has no regrets about giving up rugby, "It’s honestly been the best thing I’ve ever done."
How did Zendaya feel about Tom Holland's sobriety?
Holland's girlfriend, 'Euphoria' actress Zendaya, has been by his side throughout everything. On Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett's Wondery podcast 'Smartless', which debuted on July 3, Holland said of his girlfriend that he's "lucky I have someone like Zendaya in my life."
