A resurfaced video of Tom Holland from 2017 is making waves on social media, showcasing the actor’s dancing skills ahead of the forthcoming Fred Astaire biopic in which he is set to star.
Though he is best known for portraying Spider-Man on screen, Holland is no stranger to the stage or dancing, beginning his acting career in the title role of Billy Elliot the Musical in London’s West End from 2008 to 2010.
The resurfaced short film, titled “Joel’s Story,” was produced by the London-based Flett Films, and is about Joel Kioko, a ballet dancer who grew up in a slum in Kuwinda, Kenya, and was eventually able to secure a scholarship at the English National Ballet School. Kioko had the opportunity to dance with Holland while auditioning in London. The video is making the rounds on social media, as people question whether or not Holland has the chops to take on playing the iconic Fred Astaire. Fans have shared the video in response, as evidence that Holland will do Astaire justice.
Check out the video!
As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Holland will star as the legendary dancer and actor in a film helmed by Paddington director Paul King. Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall is writing the film. The film will be produced by Amy Pascal, Rachael O’Conner, Ben Holden and Josh Hyams. Further details, including cast and release date, have yet to be announced.
Holland recently shared in an interview that he plans to do all of the dancing in the film himself, because he wants to “do Fred proud.”
Tom Holland began his performing career in the West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical, making his debut as Michael Caffrey in 2008 before taking over the title role later that year. After leaving the production in 2010, he voiced a character in the British dub of Arrietty (2011) and made his feature film debut in The Impossible (2012), earning several breakthrough awards. He followed with roles in How I Live Now (2013), the voice role in Locke (2013), and a cameo in Billy Elliot the Musical Live (2014).
In 2015, Holland appeared as Gregory Cromwell in the BBC miniseries Wolf Hall, directed the short film Tweet, and co-starred in Ron Howard’s In the Heart of the Sea. The following year, he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe after signing a multi-film deal with Marvel Studios, making his debut as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War (2016). He also appeared in Edge of Winter (2016). In 2017, he won the BAFTA Rising Star Award and starred in The Lost City of Z, The Current War, Pilgrimage, and Spider-Man: Homecoming, his first solo film as Spider-Man.
Holland reprised the role of Spider-Man in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). During this period, he also voiced characters in Spies in Disguise (2019), Dolittle (2020), and Onward (2020), and starred in The Devil All the Time (2020), Cherry (2021), and Chaos Walking (2021).
In 2022, Holland starred as Nathan Drake in Uncharted. He next executive produced and starred in the Apple TV+ miniseries The Crowded Room (2023), earning a Critics’ Choice Television Award nomination. He returned to the stage in Jamie Lloyd’s West End revival of Romeo and Juliet (2024). That same year, he founded the production company Billy17 and signed a production deal with Sony Pictures.
In 2026, Holland starred as Telemachus in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. He is also set to reprise Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
