Tom Holland defies studio with unflattering hairdo

The Crowded Room | Playing a man accused of a crime in the Apple TV+ series, the Spider-Man star wants to break out of the superhero mould

- Alison de Souza

LOS ANGELES - Actor Tom Holland has come a long way since his days as a boy growing up in London and being bullied by schoolmates for taking ballet lessons.

After being talent-spotted at a dance class at age nine, he was cast in a 2008 West End production of Billy Elliot: The Musical and promoted to the title role a few years later.

Now a global superstar for playing Spider-Man in half a dozen Marvel films, including SpiderMan: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), which each grossed more than US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) worldwide, the 27-year-old English performer has shifted gears to take on darker and more psychologically complex roles.

He tells The Straits Times he has grown more confident in his ability to make executive decisions” about his career, which he is keen to expand far beyond his SpiderMan resume.

One such decision involved getting an unflattering 1970s haircut for the upcoming Apple TV+ psychological thriller The Crowded Room, even though that meant defying the studio to do so and getting trolled on social media for the hairdo.

Debuting on Friday, the 10episode limited series sees Holland play Danny Sullivan, a man whose state of mind comes into question when he is accused of a violent crime in 1970s New York.