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Tom Holland on ‘Punching’ Michael Keaton in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’!

By Flora / 04 Jul 2017 (Tuesday)

Holland plays the friendly neighbourhood superhero ‘Spider-Man’ (Peter Parker) in the upcoming Marvel-Sony ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’. During his promotional stop in Singapore last month with co-star Jacob Batalon who plays Ned Leeds, the young actor shared that he was tasked to punch his co-star off camera, requested by none other than Keaton himself.

“At one point when we were warming up to get ready for a take, Michael said: “Tom, punch me!” and I was like, “No, Michael, I’m not going to punch you!” And he replied: "Punch me!" So I sort of tap him, and he said: “No! Really punch me!” I punched him and we started wrestling with each other. The producers and directors on set were like ‘Are they fighting?” So yeah, it was his way of getting super pumped up for the scene and it was so awesome.”

Keaton plays Vulture, the main antagonist who squares off with Spider-Man in the film. Robert Downey Jr. who popularised the role of Iron Man also appears in the film as Parker’s ‘mentor’. This isn’t the first time Holland is working with Downey Jr. as he had a guest appearance in the 2015’s Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War, alongside other Avengers such as Captain America (Chris Evans), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).

He added: “There was so much I learned from Michael and Robert and I’m so lucky that we got a chance to meet them, let alone work with them. So yeah, it was such an amazing process! They both bring so much to their characters and such different vibes to the movie… it was great.”

(Watch the trailers for Spider-Man: Homecoming!)

Photo Credit: Sony Pictures

All eyes are on Holland as the new superhero in town, taking over the reins from former Spideys - Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield), and it seems like fans are loving this star. In the movie, Parker is seen asking for a chance from Tony Stark to ‘prove himself’ as a superhero, and in real life, he sees that ‘defining moment’ on his appearance in ‘Civil War’.

“For me, it was “Civil War” where I felt I had to prove myself. It was my 'audition' and I feel like I’ve passed, and the fans are really pleased with what I did. I felt that I’ve proven myself to be worthy of this role and I hope the fans will see the same and hopefully we can continue to make more movies and make the fans happy,” said the 21-year-old British actor.

We’ve all witnessed Holland’s dancing capabilities with his epic Lip Sync Battle to Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’, and for his combat techniques, it is evident through the trailers and social media posts about the star’s back-flipping stunts and jumping techniques. Fortunately, he didn’t sustain any serious injuries on set, but he did injure his knee… while packing his bag.

“I was actually packing my bags, ready to leave Atlanta to New York to film the New York portion of the filming and as I was carrying my bag downstairs, I fell over and actually tore my ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament),” explained Holland, adding: “So that was the only injury I had, and it was when I was packing my clothes, not even doing stunts!”

(Tom Hollands talks about bringing a youthful approach in 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'.)

Jacob Batalon plays Ned Leeds, Peter’s best friend in school who promises to keep Spider-Man’s identity a secret. Ned hasn’t appeared in any of the previous Spider-Man films, and in the comics, the character is significantly different than the version in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

For Batalon, introducing a new character to the MCU felt “different”.

He said: “Yeah, they kind of just let me do what I want to do with the character… I thought it was very easy for me to bring this fresh perspective, and I think it’s a very useful tool to have a best friend tell me everything about it. It’s a good thing about a superhero and I think because of that, it brought a character that everyone likes.”

“I think, for the most part, being the sidekick is really fun, cause you know, you don’t really get to deal with the crazy heavy stuff that superheroes need to deal with, and you get to always be there for your guy… I’ll always be there for Peter and Tom!”

Spider-Man: Homecoming opens InCinemas 6 July 2017!
View Showtimes: http://bit.ly/SpiderManHomecomingSG

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Tom Holland on ‘Punching’ Michael Keaton in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’!