Playing Spider-Man may be a dream role for many, but for Tom Holland, spending a day wearing the superhero suit comes with one major downside, and it's not what fans might expect.
In a recent interview with IMDb, Tom joined his Spider-Man: Brand New Day co-stars Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, and Jon Bernthal to talk about the newest installment of the franchise, including how their characters have evolved and what it was like bringing the film to life.
Having worn the iconic Spider-Man suit across multiple films, Tom was asked what the worst part of staying in the costume for more than 12 hours was during filming. While many might assume the answer would involve its tight fit, mobility, or even bathroom breaks, the actor had a different response.
"The worst thing is definitely the smell," he admitted. "You know, I'm not going to shy away from it."
"You know, you spend 12 hours in that thing in a deep lunge, jumping up and down all day. That s* stinks," he said, drawing laughter from his co-actors.
The actor also shared that before filming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, he worked closely with director Destin Daniel Cretton and costume designer Sanja Milkovic Hays to redesign Peter Parker's latest suit.
As part of the creative process, he got the chance to wear the Spider-Man suits previously used by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, as well as his old suits, to determine what elements they wanted to bring into the new costume.
"We were really lucky with the costume department we had on this movie," he expressed. "We spoke about the things that we all loved about the previous kind of works of art that were [in] those original suits. And there was an amazing kind of creative luxury that we had because my Peter got the chance to meet those two guys in the last movie (Spider-Man: No Way Home). So, the idea behind the design of the suit was to try and make an homage to the things we loved about those original costumes."
The actor also revealed that his fellow Spider-Man actors had one major advantage over him when it came to wearing the suit.
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"And then from a logistical point of view, Andrew and Toby, they had it way easier than I had it. They had zips in different places. They could use the bathroom. They could take their mask off by themselves. They could take their gloves off, which I still couldn't do. For the fourth iteration of this character, it was the first time I could comfortably go to the bathroom."
According to the Spider-Man actor, the redesigned suit also made it much easier to stay hydrated between takes. Unlike his previous costumes, he no longer had to remove the entire upper portion of the suit just to take a sip of his drink.
"In this movie, it gave us a lot more freedom," he expressed. "It also made working with Destin a lot easier because it is weird when you're talking to someone with a mask on and you're trying to have a human conversation. And I know you guys have to deal with that in scenes where it feels like I'm giving absolutely nothing just because I'm just essentially a giant tennis ball at that point."
One of Tom's favorite upgrades to the new costume is its redesigned lenses, which allow audiences to subtly see his eyes beneath the mask under certain lighting conditions, which for him "humanizes" the superhero.
Zendaya also praised the updated costume, saying its imperfections made the character feel more authentic.
"I love the imperfection of the suit," she said. "It wrinkles and it moves, and you can see your ears a little and the jaw movement. The ability to articulate and see that you're really in there – I love those details."
Tom explained that his previous Spider-Man suits were 3D-printed and had a texture similar to a basketball, making them much stiffer and more difficult to move in. He even had to exaggerate his mouth movements just so audiences could tell he was speaking.
With the new costume made from more flexible materials, the actor said the experience became much more comfortable.
"It was definitely a comfier experience," he said.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now showing in cinemas nationwide.