Tom Holland

Episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler · June 2, 2026 · 1 h 15 min

Amy Poehler talks with Tom Holland about dancing, Billy Elliot, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Odyssey, dyslexia, sobriety, and accents, after a chat with Jacob Batalon.

Summary

Amy Poehler opened the episode by speaking with Jacob Batalon, Tom Holland's Spider-Man co-star, who described meeting Holland at a screen test around 2016, praised him as a supportive friend and role model, showed off a Rolex Holland had bought him, and suggested Poehler ask about an inside joke called "the boiling rock part one."

In the main interview, Holland described growing up in Southwest London as the eldest of four boys with a stand-up comedian father and photographer mother. He credited a childhood conversation with his father about always presenting your best as formative, and traced his career to dancing, including a Janet Jackson song that led to dance classes and his West End role in Billy Elliot. He discussed an upcoming Fred Astaire film directed by Paul King, his debut in The Impossible alongside Naomi Watts, and learning by watching colleagues such as Matt Damon. Poehler praised his viral Lip Sync Battle "Umbrella" performance as a model of masculinity comfortable with its feminine side.

Holland discussed Spider-Man: Brand New Day, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, and its message about socializing in a digital age, as well as playing Telemachus in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, filmed on IMAX. He revealed that his dyslexia and fear of cue cards is why he has not hosted Saturday Night Live. He praised Zendaya as fearless and described rewriting a scene with her. The two compared difficulties with accents, and Holland said he quit drinking because of a problem, which led him to found the non-alcoholic beer brand Bero. He closed by calling stand-up the bravest art form and his father his hero.

Chapters

  1. 0:05

    Introduction

    Poehler introduces Tom Holland and previews the conversation.

  2. 1:53

    Jacob Batalon on Tom Holland

    Batalon recalls meeting Holland, praises his friendship, and supplies a question.

  3. 13:40

    Childhood and family

    Holland describes his comedian father, photographer mother, and three brothers.

  4. 21:19

    Dancing, Billy Elliot, and Janet Jackson

    Holland credits dance and Janet Jackson for his career and discusses a Fred Astaire film.

  5. 30:19

    The Impossible and learning on set

    Holland credits Naomi Watts and others for teaching him by example.

  6. 34:58

    Spider-Man and the Umbrella performance

    Holland discusses Spider-Man: Brand New Day, his viral dance, and stunts.

  7. 46:33

    Jacob Batalon and the boiling rock

    Holland declines to explain the inside joke on air and praises Batalon.

  8. 50:22

    The Odyssey and dyslexia

    Holland explains his role as Telemachus, IMAX filming, and why he has avoided hosting SNL.

  9. 56:36

    Working with Zendaya

    Holland praises Zendaya and recounts rewriting a scene on Brand New Day.

  10. 1:01:08

    American and British accents

    Holland and Poehler compare accent struggles and transatlantic language differences.

  11. 1:06:00

    Sobriety and Bero

    Holland explains quitting drinking and founding his non-alcoholic beer brand.

  12. 1:08:27

    Turning 30 and stand-up comedy

    Holland reflects on his 20s and explains his admiration for stand-up comedians.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

  • Jacob Batalon

    Batalon argues Holland's stunt work is too dangerous for his body.

    “he's actually doing something just too dangerous for his body. Like, you know, there's stunt doubles for a reason”

    Listen from 8:13 · Film stunts

  • Jacob Batalon

    Batalon says Holland was supportive when he was new to acting and has been a role model to him.

    “I think I try to carry that with myself in my own personal life because he's really been a great role model to me”

    Listen from 11:53 · Male friendship

  • Tom Holland

    Holland recalls his father teaching him that even when not feeling your best you must present your best, a lesson he still values.

    “even if you're not feeling your best, you need to present as your best”

    Listen from 22:34 · Dance

  • Tom Holland

    Holland credits Janet Jackson as integral to his career because a song of hers led him into dancing.

    “if you asked me to list five people that have been integral in the success of my career, she would be one of them”

    Listen from 24:29 · Dance

  • Tom Holland

    Holland says his biggest career regret is quitting dance classes after leaving Billy Elliot.

    “my biggest regret in my career so far is that when I finished that show, I quit dancing”

    Listen from 28:12 · Billy Elliot the Musical

  • Tom Holland

    Holland describes working with Naomi Watts on his first film as the ideal blueprint for professional behavior.

    “starting my career in this business, it could not have been a better blueprint for how to behave”

    Listen from 33:06 · The Impossible (2012 film)

  • Tom Holland

    Holland says he has never seen anyone work as hard as Matt Damon did on The Odyssey.

    “I have never seen anyone work as hard as Matt did on that film”

    Listen from 34:38 · The Odyssey (2026 film)

  • Tom Holland

    Holland says he questioned whether to make a fourth Spider-Man film until director Destin Daniel Cretton joined, which made it feel new and more mature.

    “when Destin came into the fold and started the director, it all of a sudden felt like, oh, this is exactly what we've been missing”

    Listen from 37:04 · Spider-Man: Brand New Day

  • Tom Holland

    Holland says the film's message about the importance of socializing in a digital age is what he is proudest of.

    “In this digital age, it's so easy to sit at home of an evening and just scroll through your phone and just turn your mind to mush”

    Listen from 38:22 · Spider-Man: Brand New Day

  • Amy Poehler

    Poehler argues Holland's viral Umbrella performance resonated because it showed a man comfortable with his feminine side.

    “it's a person who is, dare I say, comfortable with their feminine side”

    Listen from 41:05 · Lip Sync Battle Umbrella performance

  • Tom Holland

    Holland says his appetite for doing his own stunts has dwindled because his stunt team does it better.

    “As the movies have gone on, my appetite to do everything has definitely dwindled because they do a better job”

    Listen from 45:37 · Film stunts

  • Tom Holland

    Holland says his dyslexia and fear of reading changing cue cards is why he has never hosted Saturday Night Live.

    “I'm heavily dyslexic, which is one of the reasons why, and I'd love to talk to you today about it actually, is why I've never done SNL”

    Listen from 50:48 · Dyslexia

  • Tom Holland

    Holland calls Zendaya fearless and the best actor working today.

    “I think she's the best actor going. I really think she has like something special”

    Listen from 57:26 · Spider-Man: Brand New Day

  • Tom Holland

    Holland says that doing an American accent makes him more comfortable as an actor because it creates separation from himself.

    “It just feels like there's an immediate degree of separation from who I am as a person”

    Listen from 1:01:18 · Accents in acting

  • Amy Poehler

    Poehler argues Australians are best at American accents and Brits tend to be the worst.

    “The Irish are a little better and the Australians are the best”

    Listen from 1:03:18 · Accents in acting

  • Tom Holland

    Holland says he quit drinking because it had become a problem affecting his professional life, personal life, and health.

    “So I quit drinking because I had a problem and I just couldn't put it down. And it was affecting my professional life”

    Listen from 1:06:44 · Addiction and recovery

  • Tom Holland

    Holland says Bero is releasing shandies, an idea from his mother, partly so Zendaya, who has never drunk, can enjoy the product.

    “it was a ploy to create something at the company that she could enjoy”

    Listen from 1:08:23 · Bero (non-alcoholic beer)

  • Linked moment · 1:10:34Skip to 1:10:34 using a listen link in the info box.

    Tom Holland

    Holland calls stand-up the bravest art form, contrasting comics' solo effort with how much of an actor's work is done for them.

    “I love all stand-up. I think it is the bravest form of art in our world”

    Listen from 1:10:34 · Stand-up comedy craft

People

In the conversation

  • Amy PoehlerAmerican actress, comedian and podcast host, formerly of Saturday Night Live
  • Tom HollandEnglish actor cast as Telemachus
  • Jacob BatalonAmerican actor who plays Ned in the Spider-Man films

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From the publisher

Tom Holland is saving movies and masculinity. Amy hangs with Spider-Man and talks about his love for Janet Jackson, why he's never hosted 'SNL,' and the hardest words for him to say in an American accent.Host: Amy PoehlerGuests: Jacob Batalon and Tom HollandExecutive producers: Bill Simmons, Amy Poehler, and Jenna Weiss-BermanFor Paper Kite Productions: Executive producer Jenna Weiss-Berman, coordinator Sam Green, and supervising producer Joel LovellFor The Ringer: Supervising producers Juliet Litman, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin; video producers Jack Wilson and Aleya Zenieris; audio producer Kaya McMullen; social producer Bridget Geerlings; video editor Drew van Steenbergen; and booker Kat SpillaneOriginal music: Amy Miles Palmolive Ultra removes up to 99.9% of grease leaving your dishes sparkling clean. This episode is brought to you by Subaru. Love goes the extra mile in a long-range Subaru Hybrid…with up to 597 miles per tank in the Crosstrek Hybrid and up to 581 in the Forester Hybrid. Visit https://subaru.com/hybrid to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Film Interviews·Comedy Interviews·Performing Arts