Happy Birthday Tom Holland! Watch the actor’s movies besides ‘Spider-Man’

How many Tom Holland movies have you seen? Okay, now: how many Tom Holland movies have you seen where he doesn’t play Spider-Man? Uh-huh. Gotcha there, didn’t we? But that’s okay. Most people probably aren’t even aware that good ol’ Tommy H. has a career outside of playing the youngest Peter Parker in the history of Marvel films.

As it turns out, Tom Holland is turning twenty-five today. What better way to celebrate his birthday than by watching one of his non-MCU endeavors? Maybe even two of them if you’re feeling particularly adventurous. You might discover that you love Tom Holland movies even when he’s not dressed in spandex through most of them.

We’re going to make it easy for you to expand your Tom Holland knowledge. Here’s a list of Tom Holland movies that have nothing to do with wall-crawling or web-slinging. Enjoy!

The Impossible

Also known as: that movie about the real-life tsunami that split a family. 

Tom Holland was an actual teenager in this movie, playing Ewan McGregor & Naomi Watts’s oldest son. When the natural disaster hits, Holland & Watts are separated from McGregor and the two younger siblings. The rest of the film follows their grueling journey back to each other. And even back then, you could tell Holland was the real deal, the way he held his own against the veteran actors playing his parents.

You can currently stream The Impossible on Netflix.

In the Heart of the Sea

Also known as: that movie about the real-life story that inspired Moby Dick. Also, the first unofficial Spider-Man & Thor team-up.

Okay, so we really are planning to stay away from the MCU, but . . . how can we not mention that Chris Hemsworth & Tom Holland share the screen here? Have they even interacted at all in the MCU? Anyway, this is about the doomed American whaling ship Essex, with Hemsworth as the first mate, and Holland as the cabin boy. And surrounding them? A who’s who of British character actors.

You can currently stream In the Heart of the Sea on Cinemax.

The Lost City of Z

Also known as: not a sequel to World War Z, and not even a movie about zombies at all.

Charlie Hunnam is only sixteen years older than Tom Holland, but that’s nothing some Hollywood magic can’t take care of if a filmmaker like James Gray wants them to play father & son. The Lost City of Z tells the real-life story (lots of these in Holland’s filmography, huh?) of explorer Percy Fawcett – played by Hunnam – and his obsession to find an ancient lost city in the Amazon.

You can currently  stream The Lost City of Z on Paramount+.

Spies in Disguise & Onward

Also known as: those animated movies where filmmakers figured out Tom Holland’s youthful voice and MCU persona were excellent marketing assets.

You saw the commercials. One movie turns Will Smith into a pigeon and teams him up with Tom Holland, sending both stars on a silly spy adventure. The other one is a classic Pixar offering that has brothers Tom Holland & Chris Pratt go on a magical quest to reunite with their deceased father. Both films will make you laugh, but we’re sure you can guess which one will have you bawling by the end.

You can currently stream Spies in Disguise on HBO Max, and Onward on Disney+.

The Devil All the Time

Also known as: that depressing Netflix movie where Robert Pattinson plays a depraved preacher.

We have to start by pointing out that R-Pat & Tom Holland had already costarred in The Lost City of Z (where Pattinson played Hunnam’s fellow explorer Henry Costin). They have a much more intense relationship in this film though, with Holland playing a tough young man who loses the only person he cares for to Pattinson’s sinister influence. And that’s just some of the misery delivered by this star-studded ensemble piece.

You can currently stream The Devil All the Time on Netflix.

Cherry

Also known as: that movie from the guys who directed the best MCU movies, where Tom Holland plays an army veteran suffering from PTSD.

Yeah, we can’t avoid Marvel references, it seems. But wasn’t that more evocative than if we’d called Cherry a crime drama from the Russo brothers? Tom Holland plays the titular Cherry, a fictional character based on Nico Walker, who wrote the book that inspired the movie. The story follows Cherry’s descent into a life of crime to support his opioid addiction. Heavy stuff.

You can currently stream Cherry on AppleTV+.

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Do you have any favorite Tom Holland movies we haven’t mentioned? (Aside from his MCU appearances, of course.) Let us know in the comments!