Tom Holland has become best known for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the actor had a shot at nailing another big role in Star Wars -- until he botched his audition.
Holland was given the opportunity to audition for the role of Finn in the most recent Star Wars trilogy, and he cites that experience when asked about his audition horror stories.
“I’ve had quite a few," Holland told Backstage. "I’ve read the wrong lines at the wrong audition before. I remember my audition for [Star Wars: The Force Awakens] -- I was like four or five auditions in, and I think I was auditioning for John Boyega’s role."
"I remember doing this scene with this lady, bless her, and she was just a drone," Holland continues. "So I was doing all of this, like, 'We gotta get back to the ship!' And she was going, 'Bleep, bloop bloop, bleep bloop.' I just couldn’t stop laughing. I found it so funny. And I felt really bad, because she was trying really hard to be a convincing android or drone or whatever they’re called."
"Droid" is the term Holland was looking for, but his seeming lack of knowledge of the Star Wars universe didn't likely play a part in the actor's failure to land the role of Finn.
Boyega, of course, landed the spot in 2015's The Force Awakens, playing a deserting First Order Stormtrooper with the designation FN-127 before joining up with the Resistance and being named "Finn" by Poe Dameron, played by Oscar Isaac. Boyega went on to reprise the role in Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Holland, meanwhile, went on to a successful career as Spider-Man, first playing the role in 2016's Captain America: Civil War. Holland then starred in the feature role in Spider-Man: Homecoming, before appearing in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Holland's most recent outing as the web-spinner was in 2019's Spider-Man: Far from Home.
In Civil War, Spider-Man ironically made a comical reference to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
Firmly established as Spider-Man, though, Holland can now put the debacle of his Finn audition behind him. "Yeah, I obviously didn't get the part," Holland says. "That wasn’t my best moment."
The untitled sequel to Spider-Man: Far from Home is currently in development, with a scheduled release date of December 17, 2021.
Source: Backstage