Tom Holland Reveals Shocking 'Animosity' On-Set Drama In TV Project

Tom Holland is the latest celebrity to come out about toxic work environments and on-set drama.

Last month, Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against her "It Ends with Us" co-star Justin Baldoni, alleging he ignored protocols when "filming intimate scenes, and exploited the lack of controls on set to behave inappropriately.”

While Tom Holland didn't accuse anyone of exploitation, he did allege there was a lot of "animosity" on the set of Apple TV+'s limited series "The Crowded Room."

Holland’s latest project pushed him to confront some of his toughest personal challenges, including his commitment to sobriety.

The 28-year-old actor, best known for his role in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," recently opened up in an interview with Men’s Health about the intense and often uncomfortable atmosphere on the set of Apple TV+’s limited series "The Crowded Room."

“There was quite a lot of animosity on that set. It was not a very harmonious place, and there was a lot of arguing and butting heads,” Holland revealed.

The thriller series, which explored heavy themes and complex emotional territory, proved to be a demanding experience for the young star. While he has been candid about his journey with sobriety in the past, Holland admitted that the pressures of the set had him questioning his resolve.

“I thought, 'If I start drinking again now, with all this going on, it’s gonna get worse, right?'" he recalled.

The actor then admitted he is very "strong-willed." "When I decide to do something, I’m really gonna do it,” he said proudly. Holland also leaned heavily on his support system to get through the experience. “I leaned on close ones a lot: family, friends, old colleagues, new colleagues, people that reached out that I didn’t know who also were sober,” he shared.

Holland revealed in multiple interviews that his decision to quit drinking wasn’t prompted by a single dramatic event but rather by a realization about his relationship with alcohol. In early 2023, he shared on the "On Purpose with Jay Shetty" podcast that he had attempted a “Dry January” challenge and found it far more difficult than he expected.

After completing the challenge, Holland noticed how much he had been relying on alcohol and decided to extend his sobriety this past January. What started as a month-long experiment turned into a year-long commitment, and eventually, a permanent lifestyle choice.

“I didn’t one day wake up and say, ‘I’m giving up drinking forever.’ I just said, ‘I’m gonna do Dry January,’ and all of a sudden I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I’m not as in control as I thought I was,’” Holland admitted.

In "The Crowded Room," Holland takes on the role of Danny Sullivan, a seemingly ordinary man who is arrested following a 1979 shooting in New York City. Through a series of intense interrogations led by Detective Rya Goodwin (Amanda Seyfried), Danny’s mysterious and complex past begins to unravel.

Alongside Holland and Seyfried, the series features an impressive cast, including Emmy Rossum, Sasha Lane, Will Chase, and Lior Raz. Guest stars include Jason Isaacs, Christopher Abbott, Zachary Golinger, and Thomas Sadoski—who is Seyfried’s husband in real life.

Holland's remarks about the series follow his announcement in 2023 that he would be taking a year-long break from acting after experiencing a particularly challenging time while working on "The Crowded Room."

"'It was a tough time, for sure," he told Extra. "We were exploring certain emotions that I have definitely never experienced before. And then on top of that, being a producer, dealing with the day-to-day problems that come with any film set, just added that extra level of pressure."

"I'm now taking a year off, and that is a result of how difficult this show was," he added at the time.

In another interview, Holland shared that starring in the show provided valuable insights into his "own life."

"Learning about mental health and the power of it and speaking to psychiatrists about Danny (his character) and Billy's struggles, has been something that has been so informative to my own life," he said, per Daily Mail.