Tom Holland has admitted that he was “definitely addicted to alcohol” and has credited his newfound sobriety with feeling “the happiest I’ve ever been in my life”.
The actor, who recently announced a year-long break after filming “difficult” TV series The Crowded Room, said in a new interview that questioned why he was “enslaved” to drinking.
He told the On Purpose With Jay Shetty podcast that his journey to sobriety began with “a very, very boozy” Christmas last year.
The star decided to do Dry January earlier this year but was “scared” to learn that “all I could think about was having a drink”. “I just was like, ‘Wow, maybe I have a little bit of an alcohol thing,” he said.
What followed was an extension of Dry January for another month until the end of February, which in turn led to him challenging himself to go without booze for six months in total.
He opened up about the pros and cons of the move, though ultimately feels the pros outweigh them.
“I felt like I couldn’t be social,” Holland said of his relationships without alcohol. “I felt like I couldn’t go to the pub and have a lime soda. I couldn’t go out for dinner. I was really, really struggling.
“I just sort of said to myself, like, ‘Why? Why am I enslaved to this drink? Why am I so obsessed by the idea of having this drink?'”
He made the six-month sobriety plan to change his mindset and achieved the goal on his 27th birthday on June 1. By that time, he said, he was “the happiest I’ve ever been in my life”.
“I could sleep better. I could handle problems better,” he said of that period without booze. “Things that would go wrong on set, that would normally set me off, I could take in my stride. I had such better mental clarity. I felt healthier, I felt fitter.
“I’m happy to say it – I was definitely addicted to alcohol. I’m not shying away from that at all,” he added.
It’s also inspired his mother to go sober. “She’s loving it, and it’s been amazing,” he said. “I can’t believe the difference that I feel from not drinking. Yeah, I feel amazing.”
Meanwhile, Holland spoke to ExtraTV recently about taking on the role of Danny Sullivan, who is arrested for his involvement in a New York City shooting in 1979, in the psychological thriller series The Crowded Room.
The actor explained that the show, which he also executive produced, made him hit a breaking point.
“I loved the learning curve of becoming a producer,” Holland said. “I’m no stranger to hard work, I’ve always lived by this idea that hard work is good work. I really enjoyed it but then again, the show did break me.
“There did come a time when I was sort of, ‘I need to have a break’. I disappeared. I went to Mexico for a week and had some time on a beach and lay low. And I’m now taking a year off, and that is a result of how difficult this show was.”
Elsewhere, the actor has said that he regrets not contacting Andrew Garfield after her took over the role of Spider-Man in 2015.
Garfield’s time as the Marvel character came to an end with 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2. His spell as the superhero was cut short following poor reviews and a disappointing performance at the box office
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter Holland expressed his regret at not informing Garfield that he would be his successor.
“That’s because of my naivete as a kid,” he said. “I was 19 when I got cast. I was so caught up in getting the role that I never took any time to think about what it must have been like for him.
“If I’d made my second movie and it didn’t necessarily deliver in the way it should have done and they recast me, I would really struggle to bounce back. Andrew bounced back in the most unbelievable way. I just wish I’d called him and just said, ‘You know I can’t turn down this opportunity.’”
Holland said that he had an opportunity to broach the subject while filming Spider-Man: No Way Home, which saw Garfield and fellow former Spider-Man Tobey Maguire reprise their iterations of the character.
“It was wonderful,” Holland said. “Myself, Andrew, Tobey – we have this amazing bond as three people who have been through something that is so unique that we really are like brothers. We have a great group chat and we catch up every now and then. It’s called the Spider-Boys.”
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