Credit: Marvel StudiosTom Holland gained fame and popularity for his role as Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Perhaps most well-known for his role as Peter Parker, Holland has also taken on the role Nathan Drake in the Uncharted (2022) film adaptation of the popular video game franchise of the same name. Recently, Holland has ventured away from action movies to executive produce and star in a psychological thriller for Apple TV.
The Crowded Room is a pet project of Holland’s, inspired by the 1981 non-fiction novel The Minds of Billy Milligan. The series hasn’t been too popular with fans, initially receiving a series of negative reviews. It was a harsh blow to Holland, who has previously stated that he’s struggling to find roles after donning the Spider-Man suit. He’s also explained his desire to take a step back from acting in light of his struggles with social media, sobriety, and acting.
However, the latest episode of The Crowded Room has fans split on its portrayal of an LGBTQ+ scene. The episode has gone viral, with one sect of fans praising the episode for its intense gay sex scene and edits of the episode making the rounds on TikTok. “He looks amazing in eyeliner,” said one comment. “Tom Holland should [win] every award for The Crowded Room!” said another.
However, others have taken to Twitter to slam the actor, saying he’s “not my Spider-Man.” “After seeing that clip of Tom Holland I think we can all agree that he’s no longer our Spider-Man,” said @Qurandale on Twitter. “He not my spiderman anymore ngl,” @SeanSpittin commented. “We dont claim tom holland spiderman,” stated @leo040803.
After seeing that clip of Tom holland I think we can all agree that he’s no longer our Spiderman pic.twitter.com/E6BQgHPDaZ
— Qura (@Qurandale) July 14, 2023
Others compared the scene to Zendaya’s upcoming project, Challengers (2023), in which she has a threesome with two male characters, saying they told Holland to “get back for zendaya & he got backshots INSTEAD I’m SICK.” However, most Tweets were quick to jump to Holland’s defense. Twitter user @tashidonaldsonn points out that “We need to get serious and talk about the way social media and the general public r obsessed with Tom and Zendaya’s relationship to the point of having a parasocial relationship with one or both of them.”
Others pointed out that Tom Holland is an actor who is able to take on roles besides Marvel’s Spider-Man, including ones like his role in The Crowded Room. And he isn’t the only Spider-Man actor to portray a gay character or engage in a same-sex relationship for a role, as both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield have portrayed gay characters in other projects.
Tobey Maguire and Robert Downey Jr. (yes, Iron Man himself) portray a gay couple in the 2000 comedy-drama film, Wonder Boys. This would be two years before Maguire would don the role of the webslinger, and eight before RDJ would kick start the MCU.
Andrew Garfield, meanwhile, has been a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, previously stating that he was hoping Sony would let him explore a gay Spider-Man. He has also portrayed a gay man on stage in his Tony Award-winning role for the play Angels in America. “Tom Holland continues the tradition of having gay sex in non Spider-Man related projects just like Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire before him,” @REDACTEDSpider commented.
Tom Holland continues the tradition of having gay sex in non Spider-Man related projects just like Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire before him pic.twitter.com/dAxGMJqDHC
— That REDACTED Guy (@REDACTEDSpider) July 15, 2023
Pigeon-holing actors into their popular characters leads to burnout and comments like the recent ones from Robert Downey Jr., who’s glad to be doing movies other than Marvel again. It’s clear Holland is trying to explore other roles and other genres of film, and being a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community himself, clearly has no problem trying to explore those roles as well.
Holland just joins the list of Spider-Man actors who have played a queer character, with many fans clearly unaware that he isn’t the first or only one to do so. His characters don’t define him, nor do his fictional relationships have any bearing on his real (and personal) relationship with Zendaya. Personally, kudos to him for trying something so different than the action and superhero movies he’s been doing for so long. Hopefully he’s able to continue to explore roles that he enjoys and is able to continue to build his craft.
What do you think about Tom Holland’s latest project? Let us know in the comments below!