Tom Holland
Thomas Holland | |
|---|---|
 Holland in London, 31 March 2010 | |
| Born | Thomas Stanely Holland[1] 1 June 1996 |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, dancer |
| Years active | 2008–present |
Thomas Stanley "Tom" Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor and dancer, best known for playing the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London, as well as for starring in the 2012 film The Impossible. For the latter role, he won the Hollywood Spotlight Award, the National Board of Review award for Breakthrough Actor, the London Film Critics Circle Award for Young British Performer of the Year and the Young Artist Award for Best Leading Actor in a Feature Film. He was featured in Screen International's UK Stars of Tomorrow – 2012 and in Variety's Youth Impact Report 2012.
Personal life
Holland was born in Kingston-upon-Thames, London,[2][better source needed] the son of Nicola, a photographer, and Dominic Holland, who is a comedian and author.[3][4] He lives in Norbiton, Kingston-upon-Thames with his parents and three brothers – "Holland and Pflueger Are West End's Two New 'Billy Elliots'" BroadwayWorld.com, 28 August 2008</ref>[5]
Holland attended Donhead Prep School.[6] Then, after a successful eleven plus exam, he became a pupil at Wimbledon College. Having successfully completed his GCSEs, in September 2012, he started a two-year course in the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology.[4]
From March 2011 to December 2012 Dominic Holland contributed to the blog "Eclipsed", which narrated in weekly installments how a "somewhat famous comedian is being outshone by his more illustrious son".[7] In January 2013, Dominic Holland published an e-book called How Tom Holland Eclipsed His Dad which chronicles his son's rise to prominence.[5][8]
Career
Theatre
Holland began dancing at a hip hop class at Nifty Feet Dance School in Wimbledon, London. His potential was spotted by choreographer Lynne Page (who was an associate to Peter Darling, choreographer of Billy Elliot and Billy Elliot the Musical) when he performed with his dance school as part of the Richmond Dance Festival 2006.[9] After eight auditions and subsequent two years of training, on 28 June 2008 Tom made his West End debut in Billy Elliot the Musical as Michael, Billy's best friend.[10] He gave his first performance in the title role of Billy on 8 September 2008, receiving rave reviews praising his versatile acting and dancing skills.[11][12]
In September 2008 Tom (together with co-star Tanner Pflueger) appeared on the news programme on channel FIVE and gave his first TV interview. In 2009 Tom was featured on ITV1 show The Feel Good Factor.[13] At the launch show on 31 January he and two other Billy Elliots, Tanner Pflueger and Layton Williams, performed a specially choreographered version of Angry Dance from Billy Elliot the Musical, after which Tom was interviewed by host Myleene Klass. Then he became involved into training five ordinary British schoolboys learning to get fit and preparing their dance routine (fronted by Tom) for the final The Feel Good Factor show on 28 March 2009.[14] On 11 March 2010 Tom Holland along with fellow Billy Elliots Dean-Charles Chapman and Fox Jackson-Keen appeared on The Alan Titchmarsh Show on ITV1.
On 8 March 2010, to mark the fifth anniversary of Billy Elliot the Musical, four current Billy Elliots, including Tom Holland, were invited to 10 Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister Gordon Brown.[15][16] It was Tom Holland who was chosen to be a lead at the special fifth anniversary show on 31 March 2010. Elton John, Billy Elliot the Musical composer, who was at the audience, called Tom's performance "astonishing" and said that he was "blown away" by it.[17]
Holland had been appearing on a regular basis as Billy in Billy Elliot the Musical, rotating with three other performers[18] until 29 May 2010, when he finished his run in the musical.
Cinema
The Impossible
In two months after leaving Billy Elliot the Musical, Holland successfully auditioned for a starring role in the film The Impossible (directed by Juan Antonio Bayona) alongside Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor. The Impossible was based on a true story that took place during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2012, and was released in Europe in October 2012, and in North America in December 2012.
Tom has received universal praise for his performance, in particular: "What a debut, too, from Tom Holland as the eldest of their three lads" (The Telegraph);[19] "Tom Holland, making one of the finest feature debuts in years" (HeyUGuys);[20] "the excellent Tom Holland" (The Guardian);[21] "The child performers are uncanny and there is an especially terrific performance from Tom Holland as the resourceful, levelheaded Lucas terrified but tenacious in the face of an unspeakable ordeal" (Screen Daily);[22] "Young Holland in particular is astonishingly good as the terrified but courageous Lucas." (The Hollywood Reporter);[23] "However, the real acting standout in The Impossible is the performance of Tom Holland as the eldest son Lucas. His portrayal is genuine, and at no moment does it feel melodramatic and forced. The majority of his scenes are separate from the lead actors and for the most part it feels like The Impossible is Holland's film" (Entertainment Maven);[24] "Mr. Holland, meanwhile, matures before our eyes, navigating the passage from adolescent self-absorption to profound and terrible responsibility. He is a terrific young actor" (New York Times).[25]
Tom has given a number of interviews about his role in The Impossible.[3][26][27][28] In particular, he talked on video to Vanity Fair senior West Coast editor Krista Smith[29] and with IAMROGUE's managing editor Jami Philbrick.[30] He has also given interviews to The Hollywood Reporter,[31] to MovieWeb,[32] to Today on NBC,[33] to BBC America,[34] to Teen Vogue[35] and to other outlets.[36]
Tom's director and co-stars have also talked about him. Juan Antonio Bayona: "He had this extraordinary ability to get into the emotion and portray it in a very, very easy way. The best I'd ever seen in a kid."[37] Ewan McGregor: "It was wonderful watching Tom who had never worked in front of a camera before, to see him really get it and grow as a film actor as he went along. He's really talented and polite to everyone. It's very easy for children to lose perspective but he's absolutely on the right road and a brilliant actor."[38] Naomi Watts: "He has an incredible emotional instrument and an unbelievable sense of himself... Tom Holland and I had a couple of moments where we came together and I could just tell how wonderful he was and what a beautiful instrument he had."[37][39][40]
In his turn, Tom Holland has returned favours to Naomi Watts when he was asked to present Desert Palm Achievement Award to her at Palm Springs International Film Festival. According to HitFix it was the "best intro" of the night.[41] Holland admitted only being allowed by his dad to watch Watts in King Kong. He "sweetly" concluded "From the moment I met you, you took my hand and you never let go", which received an "awwww" from the audience.[41][42]
Other roles
In 2011, Holland was cast in the British version of the animation film Arrietty, produced by Japan’s cult Studio Ghibli. He provided a voice over for the principal character Sho.[43] In 2012 Tom Holland filmed the role of Isaac in the film How I Live Now (directed by Kevin Macdonald) alongside Saoirse Ronan. The film is due to be released in 2013. In April 2013 Holland was cast in the role of Young Nickerson in the film In the Heart of the Sea[44] (directed by Ron Howard) alongside Chris Hemsworth.[45]
Awards and recognition
On 17 October 2012, Holland became a recipient of Hollywood Spotlight Award for his role in The Impossible. "We are very excited that we will be able to recognize acting talents that are on the road to discovery and stardom," said Carlos de Abreu, founder and executive director of the Hollywood Film Awards in a statement.[46] On 6 December 2012 it was announced that Holland had won the National Board of Review award in the Breakthrough Actor category.[47] In the end of December 2012, Holland was voted a winner for the year's Best Youth Performance in Nevada Critics Awards.[48] On 20 January 2013 Tom Holland became a winner of the London Film Critics Circle Awards 2012 in the Young British Performer of the Year category[49] (video interviews[50][51]). On 23 March 2013 Holland won the Empire Award for Best Newcomer.[52] On 5 May 2013 Holland received the Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film.[53]
Holland received a number of nominations for his role in The Impossible: for the 18th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards, in the Best Young Actor/Actress category;[54] for Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2012 in the Most Promising Performer category; for the 27th Goya Awards in the Best New Actor category, and for the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2012 in the Best Youth Performance category.
Kristopher Tapley, Editor-at-Large of HitFix, reported on 27 August 2012 that Summit Entertainment, the company responsible for distribution of The Impossible in USA, would be campaigning Holland rather than McGregor as the lead, and strongly argued that Tom Holland deserved to be nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Actor category.[55] Despite an Oscar nomination for Watts, the fact of long-listing for a Best Actor Academy Award was confirmed in the article in The Hollywood Reporter: "And though McGregor stars as his father in the film, Holland has been submitted as the lead actor for awards consideration. Regardless if he receives any nominations, his performance as the strong-willed and determined eldest son is garnering critical acclaim."[56]
As one of the most promising young actors,[57][58][59] Holland was featured in Screen International's UK Stars of Tomorrow – 2012[60] and in Variety's Youth Impact Report 2012.[61] It was announced on 25 September, 2013 that Holland was among the talented newcomers across Film, TV and Games picked by a jury for the first ever inaugural British Academy of Film and Television Arts Breakthrough Brits, in partnership with Burberry.[62]
Charity work
Since October 2012 Tom Holland fronts a new campaign to get young people to register as potential bone marrow donors for the British charity, the Anthony Nolan Trust. He has registered himself and recorded a promotional video.[63]
Filmography
 | This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. (September 2013) |
Stage credits
| Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
29 May 2010 |
Victoria Palace Theatre | |||
See also
References
- ^ http://www.tribute.ca/people/tom-holland/42348/
- ^ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.; at ancestry.com
- ^ a b "Meet Tom Holland... the 16-year-old star of The Impossible" Evening Standard, 20 December 2012
- ^ a b "Schoolboy actor Tom Holland finds himself in Oscar contention for role in tsunami drama" The Scotsman, 21 December 2012
- ^ a b "I'm so envious of my son, the movie star! British writer Dominic Holland's spent 20 years trying to crack Hollywood - but he's been beaten to it by a very unlikely rival" Daily Mail, 11 February 2013
- ^ "Tom Holland to play Billy Elliot" Donhead School Site
- ^ "Dominic Holland's Eclipsed" Dominic Holland's official site
- ^ "How does it feel when your child eclipses your achievements before he's reached adulthood?" Independent, 16 January 2013
- ^ "New Billy Elliot leaving the garage" Richmond and Twickenham Times, 31 August 2008
- ^ "We Are Billy Elliot: Meet the Cast and Crew. Video Interview with Tom Holland", WEstEndTheatre YouTube Channel, 27 august 2009
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
bwwwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "A Tale of four Billys: Tom Holland" Albion and Beyond, 28 August 2008
- ^ "The Feel Good Factor" tvthrong.co.uk
- ^ "Thames Christian College schoolboys join Myleene Klass for The Feelgood Factor" This is Local London, 5 March 2009
- ^ "Government launches £600,000 arts bursaries pilot" The Stage, 8 March 2010
- ^ "BILLY's Chapman, Holland, Gardner & Jackson-Keen Visit Prime Minister" BroadwayWorld.com, 8 March 2010
- ^ "Elton John 'blown away' by Billy Elliot fifth birthday" (Video with John's interview and fragments of Holland's performance) BBC News, 1 April 2010
- ^ "Being Billy Elliot" NewsOnStage, 29 March 2010
- ^ "The Impossible, Toronto Film Festival, review" The Telegraph, 14 September 2012
- ^ "TIFF 2012: The Impossible Review" HeyUGuys, 14 September 2012
- ^ "The Impossible - Review" The Guardian, 12 September 2012
- ^ "The Impossible" Screen Daily, 11 September 2012
- ^ "The Impossible: Toronto Review" The Hollywood Reporter, 9 September 2012
- ^ "TIFF 2012 – The Impossible Review" Entertainment Maven, 12 September 2012
- ^ "Swept Away and Torn Apart in a Sea of Despair" New York Times, 21 December 2012
- ^ "Tom Holland stars as Naomi Watts' son in 'The Impossible'" Philly.com, 21 December 2012
- ^ "Tom Holland scores big with 'Impossible' turn" CourierPostOnline.com, 15 December 2012
- ^ "'The Impossible' Star Tom Holland On His Award-Worthy Film Debut" The Daily Beast, 20 December 2012
- ^ "Video: Tom Holland on The Impossible" Vanity Fair, The Screening Room, September 2012
- ^ Video: Tom Holland talks 'The Impossible' IAMROGUE.COM, 19 December 2012
- ^ "Tom Holland on 'The Impossible': PSIFF" The Hollywood Reporter, 7 January 2013
- ^ "The Impossible: Exclusive: Tom Holland" MovieWeb, 7 January 2013
- ^ "'Impossible' actor Tom Holland: Movie 'completely changed my life'" TODAY.com, 7 January 2013
- ^ "WATCH: 16-Year-Old 'Impossible' Star Tom Holland: 'Four Years Ago I Was Nothing'" BBC America, 16 January 2013
- ^ "Breakout Star Tom Holland on His Film Debut 'The Impossible'" Teen Vogue, 23 January 2013
- ^ "National Board of Review Gala: The Impossible star Tom Holland" ShainaTV, 10 January 2013
- ^ a b "Tom Holland grown-up turn in The Impossible" Gulf News, 24 December 2012
- ^ "Ewan McGregor Interview For the Impossible" Flicks and Bits, 18 September 2012
- ^ "Naomi Watts Interview For The Impossible" Flicks and Bits, 16 September 2012
- ^ "Video: Naomi Watts: Tom Holland es lo mejor de 'Lo Imposible'" Mujereshoy.com, 4 October 2012
- ^ a b "'Argo,' Sally Field and Helen Mirren highlight Palm Springs Film Festival Awards Gala", HitFix.com, 6 January 2013
- ^ Naomi Watts Thanks Her Sons Sasha and Kai For "Breathing Life Into Me" 7 January 2013
- ^ "First News interviews Arrietty's Tom Holland" First News, 5 August 2011
- ^ "In the Heart of the Sea" The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
- ^ "Ron Howard Whaling Tale ‘In The Heart Of The Sea’ Casts Tom Holland" Deadline | Hollywood, 10 April 2013
- ^ "Hollywood Spotlight Award winners include Kelly Reilly, Tom Holland" Los Angeles Times, 17 October 2012
- ^ "Zero Dark Thirty Is the National Board of Review Big Winner" Vulture.com, 6 December 2012
- ^ "Ben Affleck, Argo, Kathryn Bigelow top Nevada Film Critics Awards" Alt Film Guide, 29 December 2012
- ^ "Winners at London Critics' Circle Film Awards" BBC Entertainment&Arts News, 20 January 2013
- ^ "Tom Holland - Critics Circle Awards 2013" HeyUGuys.co.uk YouTube channel, 20 January 2013
- ^ "The Impossible Tom Holland Interview London Critics' Circle Awards 2013" RedCarpetNews TV YouTube Channel, 20 January 2013
- ^ "Jameson Empire Awards 2013: Live". Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ "34th Annual Young Artist Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ "'Lincoln' leads Critics' Choice Movie Awards field" USA Today, 11 December 2012
- ^ Tom Holland, 16-year-old star of 'The Impossible,' joins the Best Actor race HitFix, 27 August 2012
- ^ "'The Impossible': Tom Holland on Staying Afloat in his Film Debut" The Hollywood Reporter, 22 December 2012
- ^ "Why we're watching… Tom Holland" Guardian, 22 December 2012
- ^ "A Breakthrough Actor Hits the Red Carpet" The Wall Street Journal, 9 January 2013
- ^ "The kids are all right: Child actors are enjoying a golden age in Hollywood" Independent, 9 May 2013
- ^ "UK Stars of Tomorrow" Screen International 23, June–July 2012
- ^ "'Billy' boy tries 'Impossible'" Variety, 13 September 2012
- ^ "BAFTA Breakthrough Brits 2013" Official BAFTA site, 25 September 2013
- ^ "Tom Holland joins the Anthony Nolan register" Anthony Nolan channel at YouTube, 1 October 2012
- ^ "Jameson Empire Film Awards". Retrieved 24 March 2013.
External links
- Tom Holland at IMDb
- Tom Holland on X