Tom Holland (30) is truly becoming a legendary dancer. On "Good Morning America", the actor gave an update on the film project he announced back in 2021: the biopic about Hollywood icon Fred Astaire (1899-1987). Holland has already completed his first rehearsals.
"I recently had my first rehearsals and they filled me with excitement and absolute terror because I still have so much work ahead of me to do Fred justice", Holland said. After promoting the new "Spider-Man" film, for which he's currently touring the world with his wife Zendaya (29), he plans to dive into preparations: "Next up we have Fred Astaire, that's the plan. And as soon as I'm done with the tours, I'm diving back into the dance studio."
No Doubles, No Cuts
Holland has big ambitions for the project. He expressed "the desire not to use doubles, to do all the dancing myself and to shoot these dances in a single take, just like he would have done it", he explained on the show. Astaire was famous for performing his numbers without any saving cuts.
The film also feels like a new beginning for him. "I now feel like I'm starting a chapter where I can no longer easily pass as a teenager", the 30-year-old emphasized. However, it will likely be some time before the first day of shooting in a tuxedo.
Announced Six Years Ago
That Tom Holland would play Fred Astaire in a biopic was announced back in December 2021, shortly before the theatrical release of his third solo appearance as Spider-Man. At the time, he told "Associated Press" that he had already received the script by Steven Levenson but hadn't read it yet. Paul King will direct.
The dancer, singer and actor Fred Astaire, born Frederick Austerlitz in Nebraska, had resisted a film adaptation of his biography throughout his life and allegedly even recorded this rejection in his will. His heirs overruled this. In addition to Holland's film, Amazon is also working on "Fred & Ginger" with Jamie Bell (40) as Astaire and Margaret Qualley (31) as his longtime screen partner Ginger Rogers (1911-1995).
