Ah, the glamorous life of a Hollywood celebrity.
Tom Holland, who, among other films, has been in the successful “Spiderman” series playing the young Peter Parker, could be considered such a celebrity.
But he wants no part of the alleged glamor.
In fact, he’s afraid of it.
“I really do not like Hollywood,” Holland told Jay Shetty on the “On Purpose” podcast. “It’s not for me. The business really scares me.
“I understand I’m a part of that business and I enjoy my kind of interactions with it.
“But, that said, I am always looking for ways to kind of remove myself, to kind of just live as normal a life as possible.”
Sounds like 27-year-old Holland has a healthy outlook; it seems like he’s viewing what he does as a career, if not just a job, as opposed to an all-consuming way of life.
Descriptions of his work ethic, reported in “Backstage” in 2021, indicate he approaches that job with professionalism.
Yet, just appearing for an interview was a stretch for him, Holland told Shetty, saying he wants no part of award shows or red-carpet events unless they directly involve a picture he is in.
London-born Holland didn’t say specifically what his fears were, other than perhaps losing himself to Hollywood as he has seen happen to other actors, some of them friends.
“I definitely think it has been an ongoing thought, which is: Don’t lose yourself,” Holland said.
“I’ve seen so many people come before me and lose themselves,” he noted. “And I’ve had friends that I’ve grown up with that aren’t friends of mine anymore because they’ve lost themselves to this business.”
Holland said he’d rather focus on the things that make him happy, such as his family and friends and avocations like carpentry and golf and being involved in a charity operated by his mother.
“That is the stuff that makes me really happy,” he said. “And that’s the stuff that I should protect.”
Beginning as a dancer at the age of 9, Holland comes from a close family, continues to revere his parents, and applies preparation and continued learning of the craft of acting, according to “Backstage.”
And the publication called him a “Hollywood anomaly,” something revealed in the personal boundaries he has set as he described in the “On Purpose” podcast.
Hollywood is a bad place, but Tom Holland seems to have a realization of at least some of its dangers.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
