Even Spider-Man needs a break sometimes.
Tom Holland revealed in a new interview that he is “taking a year off” acting after his “difficult” experience making his latest project, “The Crowded Room.”
The “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Uncharted” actor served as an executive producer on the Apple TV+ limited series, which premieres Friday and stars Holland as a young man accused of committing a violent crime in 1979 Manhattan.
“It was a tough time for sure,” the 27-year-old told Extra. “We were exploring certain emotions that I have definitely never experienced before. And then on top of that, being a producer dealing with the day-to-day problems that come with any film set added that extra level of pressure.
“But I really enjoyed it. I loved the learning curve of becoming a producer. I’m no stranger to hard work. I’ve always lived by this idea that hard work is good work. … But then again, the show did break me. There did come a time where I was like, ‘I need to have a break.’ I disappeared. I went to Mexico for a week and had some time on a beach and laid low. And I’m now taking a year off, and you know, that is a result of how difficult this show was.”
Created by Akiva Goldsman, “The Crowded Room” also stars Amanda Seyfried as an investigator on the central case. The first three episodes of the 10-episode psychological thriller — based on Daniel Keyes’ 1981 nonfiction novel “The Minds of Billy Milligan” — are set to launch Friday, followed by installments of one episode per week.
Holland plays Danny Sullivan, a bullied teenager living with dissociative identity disorder while maintaining his innocence. Danny is a fictional version of Milligan, who was found not guilty of robbing, kidnapping and raping three women near Ohio State University in the late 1970s after psychiatrists determined he had as many as 24 different personalities.
“I was really excited by the challenge of bringing him to life, understanding the responsibility of telling a story like this, hearing the message from Akiva, hearing what he wants to try and achieve and feeling really aligned with him,” Holland told Extra.
“It was time to tell a story about mental health … try and educate some people into how crazy it can be and how your mind is so powerful — and it can work for good, and it can work for bad. And it really resonated with me … I really, really was terrified by the idea of playing this character. And for me, that’s a really good thing.”
This isn’t the first time Holland has raised awareness about mental health. Last summer, the BAFTA winner announced that he had “taken a break” from social media because being online was “very detrimental” to his mental well-being. He also has recently partnered with stem4, a charity that provides mental health resources to teens living with anxiety, depression, eating disorders or addiction.
“There is an awful stigma against mental health,” Holland said in August, “and I know that asking for help and seeking help isn’t something that we should be ashamed of, but it is something that is much easier said than done.”
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