Watching Tom Holland's Real Spider-Man Audition Tape Left Me Stunned That It Was His First Try

Watching the real Spider-Man: No Way Home audition tapes for Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon, my overall verdict is simple: these were genuinely great tapes, and the way each of them booked the job says a lot about how differently actors can land the same part.

For anyone who loves this cast, seeing the raw footage of how they first became these characters is exactly the kind of thing fans have been asking for, since I mentioned a patron had even asked where our full No Way Home reaction was.

Tom Holland's Tape Showed Him Doing a Gymnastics-Style Layout With a Mic Pack Hidden in His Underwear

The first thing that jumped out watching Tom Holland's tape was the physicality. "That was impressive, yeah that was really impressive," I said, noting he was "landing hard" on a hard wood floor, which made me wince a little thinking about long-term wear on his knees and back even though it looked great on camera in the moment. What made it more impressive is that he was doing all of this with a mic pack tucked into his underwear so it would not fall out, and he went straight into his lines afterward. What really got me is that, from what was discussed in the reaction, this was reportedly his first audition, and he still booked the movie, which I found almost unfair compared to how many actors grind through their five hundredth self-tape for a role.

We Debated Whether Superstitions Like Blue Backdrops Actually Help Actors Book Jobs

Watching Zendaya's tape led to a side conversation about audition superstitions, like actors convincing themselves a blue backdrop is what got them booked. My co-host, who used to work in casting, backed up that bluish gray studio walls are a real trick because they make skin tone pop on camera. We compared it to tennis player Bjorn Borg's rigid pre-match rituals, but ultimately agreed the real reason Tom Holland's tape worked had nothing to do with backdrops. As I put it, "what made it work for him was he just had the look and he just wasn't, he was unabashedly himself basically he was the character."

Zendaya Followed the Rules, Jacob Batalon Had Stillness, and Tom Holland Broke Every Rule and Still Won

Zendaya's tape was shot in a proper studio with that professional blue backdrop, and we agreed she "embodied" the role while playing it safe and correct. Jacob Batalon's tape had a less flattering camera angle, almost looking up his nose, but he brought real stillness and something special that clearly stood out to casting. Tom Holland, by contrast, ignored typical audition advice about staying still and skipping props, adding a bit with his shoe and moving around constantly, and still booked what I called "the biggest job in his entire life." That contrast led to one blunt aside in the reaction: "also it helps if you're white."

Do you think Tom Holland's freewheeling, rule breaking audition style is why he got the part, or did Zendaya and Jacob Batalon prove that playing it by the book works just as well?