Thanks to his brilliant performance as Peter Parker aka Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tom Holland received international recognition as a brilliant actor. While there have been many iterations of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, a lot of people today have Tom Holland leading the list. His fun and light-hearted portrayal of the character might take the credit for that!
Tom Holland
While everything seems to be going quite well with respect to Tom Holland’s career in Hollywood since then, there was one missed opportunity that couldn’t have been pleasant for the actor. Tom Holland was all set to play the lead role in a commercially successful film that went on to make big bucks at the box office. Unfortunately, due to prior engagements, Tom Holland couldn’t be a part of it, which might not have been the best idea when you compare the two film’s box office runs.

Tom Holland was Almost in 1917

Tom Holland in Chaos Walking

Many times actors pass up opportunities to star in projects which they end up regretting. One example is actor Charlie Hunnam who let go of Fifty Shades of Grey and then later called it the worst professional experience of his life since the franchise performed so well at the box office. Well, Tom Holland might know exactly how Hunnam must have felt because he too passed the opportunity to star in 1917.

The 2019 film, which was directed by Sam Mendes, was about to have Holland star in the lead role. Unfortunately, the actor had other commitments which stopped him from becoming a part of the critically acclaimed film. Holland had to be on the sets of Chaos Walking for the reshooting of some scenes and thus, the actor’s lead role in 1917 never became a reality.

Chaos Walking was released in 2021 and was directed by Doug Liman. Along with Holland, the film starred Daisy Ridley, Nick Jonas, Mads Mikkelsen, etc. So why might the Spider-Man: No Way Home actor have regrets when it comes to starring in the 2021 film? Well, for starters, Chaos Walking made just over $26 million worldwide while on the other hand, 1917 made more than $387 million. That’s quite a difference! Not only that, but the former has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 21% whereas the latter boasts a score of 89%.

1917 was also nominated for a total of ten Oscars at the 92^nd Academy Awards and ended up taking three of them home. Meanwhile, Chaos Walking received tons of negative reviews including one from IndieWire which stated the film was “Dull and ordinary.”

Tom Holland Missed Out on Yet Another Huge Role

Star Wars logo
The MCU isn’t the only franchise Holland tried out for. The actor also tried out for one of the sequels of Star Wars, a franchise that has one of the biggest fan bases of today. Holland recalled to Backstage that he auditioned for a role in Star Wars but couldn’t get in. Why? Well, it’s not that the team didn’t find him talented enough, but the actor just couldn’t stop laughing during his turn.
“I remember my audition for Star Wars, 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. 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. Yeah, I obviously didn’t get the part. That wasn’t my best moment.”
Laughing during serious situations just makes Holland all the more relatable! We wonder how things would’ve panned out if he did get selected for Star Wars.

1917 is available to rent or buy on Apple TV.