What did Tom Holland do before playing Spider-Man?

Tom Holland might be known as Spider-Man, but what did he do before playing the Marvel hero?

Thanks to his role as Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tom Holland has become a household name and skyrocketed to the top of Hollywood’s A-List.

Since his breakout role as Spider-Man, Holland has become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors appearing in several blockbusters. From a handful of follow-up Marvel projects to lending his voice in hit films including Onward, Dolittle, and Spies in Disguise, Holland has been keeping busy since his big break but just what did Holland do before taking on the role of Spider-Man?

Like most stars, acting was always in Holland’s blood and from a young age he enjoyed the theater. He even managed to perform the role of Billy in a production of Billy Elliot the Musical at Victoria Palace Theatre in London’s West End.

Holland also managed to get a few acting gigs under his belt in the years leading up to his big break including the 2012 film The Impossible, which he starred alongside Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts. Aside from the occasional bit role; however, Holland struggled to take his career to the next stage which almost set him down a very different path.

Tom Holland almost quit acting to pursue carpentry

Although it’s hard to picture Tom Holland doing anything other than acting, the truth is that he was very close to giving up on his dream of becoming an actor in order to pursue a more grounded career path.

As Holland revealed during an interview with GQ in 2019, when he was 18 he found himself in a bit of a rut and his mom suggested that he come up with a plan B. Hoping to give him some direction, his mom signed him up for carpentry school and he quickly took to the craft.

From acquiring skills for building rooves to learning how to renovate a bathroom, Holland learned a variety of trades during the six-week course and admitted to loving the experience. Fortunately for fans, he still took it upon himself to take on a few auditions between courses including one with Marvel.

In other words, if he had opted just to focus on carpentry school and put a pause on auditions we never would have been gifted with arguably the best live-action Spider-Man yet! Luckily, Marvel saw something in the young star and the rest is history!

Did you happen to follow Tom Holland’s career before he broke big as Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Did you have any clue that Tom Holland almost ditched his dreams of acting to take up carpentry?