The Marvel Star Who Taught Tom Holland How To Cry On Screen - And How He Does It
Tom Holland's Spider-Man features in many of the saddest moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, whether it's him getting snapped out of existence by Thanos (Josh Brolin) in "Avengers: Infinity War" or mourning the death of Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) in "Spider-Man: No Way Home." It certainly helps that the actor knows how to make some convincing waterworks, but he couldn't always cry realistically on-screen. As it happens, one of Holland's fellow Marvel stars gave him a full-course lesson in acting tears.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Holland was asked if he has any industry peers he often seeks for advice or assistance. Interestingly enough, the actor brought up the name of Benedict Cumberbatch, who stars in the MCU as Doctor Strange and has appeared opposite Holland's Spidey on multiple occasions.
Holland specifically recalled an anecdote from filming 2017's "The Current War" alongside Cumberbatch. "I went through a phase where I was really, really struggling to cry — in my personal life also — and it was really affecting me on set," he explained. "I would really just worry about crying scenes and worry and worry and worry." Holland shared his issue with Cumberbatch, who had impressed him with convincing tears in "The Imitation Game." The "Sherlock" alum taught him a secret technique for crying on-screen.
Benedict Cumberbatch's cry-acting method helped Holland
When Tom Holland approached Benedict Cumberbatch about his problem with crying on-screen, the latter revealed that he doesn't just channel his personal feelings to reflect convincing emotion while filming — he has a full-blown physical method to get the tears flowing.
Holland explained the process behind Cumberbatch's crying prowess in his Q&A hosted by The Hollywood Reporter. "The technique that he told me was a thing he's able to do with his diaphragm, which is almost like laughing," he said. "He would do this thing where he would simulate laughing and breathe really, really quickly so that it brings the emotion to the surface. Then you take it and ride the wave from there."
According to Holland, Cumberbatch's technique was a revelation that completely alleviated his struggles with cry-acting. He is now much more "confident" about filming scenes where his character weeps; adapting Cumberbatch's method changed how he approaches those sequences. "I don't have to draw on past experiences or personal matters anymore."
A teary on-set moment helped Holland cry in No Way Home
When it comes to Tom Holland's teariest moments on-screen, it's tough to beat the rooftop scene in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," in which he meets Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men while grieving the death of the MCU's Aunt May. While Holland had years of experience using Benedict Cumberbatch's cry-acting method at this point, the actor's emotion was also inspired by an on-set interaction from just before the cameras started rolling.
In a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Holland revealed that prior to filming the rooftop scene, he shared a tender moment with Maguire and Garfield. The actor expressed gratitude to his Spider-Man predecessors for their contributions to the character and told them how much it meant to him that they agreed to return for "No Way Home." Apparently, the weight of the exchange hit all three hard. "Tobey hadn't acted in nearly 10 years, so we all embraced each other, and we were all crying because it meant so much to us," he said.
Holland's real-life tears helped him sell his character's emotions in the pivotal scene, and the talk with his fellow Spidey actors directly influenced the trio's emotional goodbye later in the movie. "Jon Watts, Amy Pascal, and the writers saw this moment between the three of us and were like, 'Brilliant! Well, now we know how they're going to say goodbye to each other,'" Holland explained. "So essentially, we just reshot that very real moment between the three of us."