Did Zendaya save Tom Holland from tabloid hell? Her advice on fame
With great acting comes great fame – a truth Tom Holland may not have been prepared for after his role as Spider-Man in the latest Marvel blockbuster franchise. After first appearing in Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017, Tom Holland went from pretty unheard of to easily recognizable in a flash.
Holland confessed that rising to stardom wasn’t natural for him, and at first he didn’t have the best interaction with fans. Luckily his fantastic Spider-Man costar Zendaya was there to give him some pointers. What kind of wisdom did Zendaya have to share with the fame newbie?
Not a fan of fans
Would you be into the idea of having random & frequent encounters with people you don’t know wanting to know you? Would you think it pretty strange? Well, actors are just the same. Holland recounted his experience with fans, saying:
“I used to come across sometimes as a bit of a dick to fans, mainly as I was always so surprised that they’d want a picture with me or signature or whatever. I’d have the typical Londoner reaction, one of instant suspicion: ‘Why are you talking to me?’”
As the figurehead of one of the most popular superheroes in the MCU, Tom Holland understandably has garnered much attention over the years. Thus, a certain attitude adjustment was necessary to avoid being trashed in the media for being rude.
Zendaya to the rescue
Ultimately, Holland was able to adapt to his celebrity status thanks to fame wiz Zendaya. “Talking to Zendaya’s helped me a lot, actually,” he confessed. According to him, she noticed his struggle to connect with fans and immediately jumped in to show him the ropes.
“[Zendaya] quickly told me that this sort of reaction was going to be more aggro than just smiling and taking the picture,” Holland recounted. “She totally changed the way I am able to be more comfortable in public.”
Zendaya’s advice clearly sunk in for Holland because now it’s hard to imagine him being cold to fans with his usually plucky demeanor. A bad reputation with fans can only yield bad results for new stars trying to make a name for themselves.
In the spotlight since she was only fourteen years old on Disney Channel’s Shake it Up in 2010, Zendaya more than qualifies as a celebrity pro. After winning her first Emmy as the lead actress in the emotional teen drama Euphoria, her stardom is only on the rise.
How close are Zendaya & Holland?
Despite incessant rumors about Zendaya & Holland having a romantic relationship, both actors have maintained that they remain close friends. Of course, with the previous Spider-Man duos dating (both Kirsten Dunst & Tobey Maguire as well as Andrew Garfield & Emma Stone) everyone hoped the spark between the two celebrities would ignite romantic passions.
Oh, well – at least we know that Zendaya & Holland make a great pair as friends as well. In 2017, Holland echoed a similar sentiment about Zendaya, gushing about how tight they were:
“We are like the best of friends. She’s so great and amazing. I’m a little worried [about dealing with fame … [but] Zendaya is super famous and she’s been through this and I just call her up and say, ‘How do I manage being famous?’ I’m very glad I have a friend like her.”
Moreover, Zendaya has expressed quite profusely that she avoids heavy romantic entanglements at such a young age on purpose. “I’m so anti being in a committed relationship when you’re young and people are learning and growing, because when people are young, they make bad decisions sometimes because they don’t know any better,” she explained.
“It doesn’t mean they don’t know the difference between right and wrong – it just means that they’re still in the experimental phase in their life where they haven’t made the right decisions yet . . . it’s very hard to be in a relationship when the both of you are still figuring out life. You cannot change anybody. You cannot make someone grow up faster than they’re supposed to.”
Preach Zendaya. We feel you there. Perhaps her attitude helps bolster a healthy relationship between Holland & her, as they clearly have grown and learned from each other after working together. Not to mention – they clearly have a lot of fun on & off camera!
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Zendaya & Tom Holland are currently working on Spider-Man: No Way Home, the third installment of the latest Marvel Spider-Man franchise.
