Tom Holland, the British actor best known for playing Spider-Man, has opened up about his struggles with alcoholism. Speaking to the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast, the 27-year-old said quitting alcohol was 'the best thing I’ve ever done' after being 'scared' by the extent of his dependence.
After a 'very, very boozy' Christmas in 2021, Holland resolved to complete a dry January but found that 'all I could think about was having a drink. It really scared me.' He extended his sobriety but struggled in England, where socialising and alcohol are 'significantly intertwined.' He said, 'I felt like I couldn’t be social. I felt like I couldn’t go to the pub and have a lime soda.'
Holland distanced himself from friends in the rugby community, 'because so much of it is about how much can you drink.' He questioned, 'Why am I enslaved to this drink? Why am I so obsessed by the idea of having this drink?' By his 26th birthday on 1 June 2022, he had gone five months without drinking and was 'the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.'
He reported benefits including improved sleep, better mental clarity, and the ability to handle setbacks on set. 'I’m happy to say it – I was definitely addicted to alcohol. I’m not shying away from that at all.' Now a year and a half sober, Holland’s journey inspired his mother to quit drinking as well, with positive results.
Holland is currently on a break from acting after a gruelling shoot on Apple TV series The Crowded Room, where he played an American criminal with dissociative identity disorder. His career began with Billy Elliot in the West End and his big-screen breakthrough in 2012’s The Impossible, before debuting as Spider-Man in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.
