Tom Holland Says He Doesn't 'Like Living in the Spotlight': 'I'm a Very Private Person'
Tom Holland would rather avoid having his personal life under a microscope.
The Spider-Man: Far From Home actor, 23, opened up about being photographed with a woman in July while at British Summer Time in London’s Hyde Park.
The attention the outing received was far from what Holland was expecting.
“It’s just, I’m a very private person. If you do a Google Search, I’m not a tabloid person,” he told GQ. “I don’t like living in the spotlight. I’m quite good at only being in the spotlight when I need to.”
That’s why seeing photos of Holland and Olivia Bolton circulating the internet “was a bit of a shock to the system,” he said.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever kind of been in the tabloids. It’s the first time something like this has ever really happened to me,” Holland continued. “But it’s something that you look at and you go, ‘Oh, well, I just don’t put myself in that situation again.'”
The Marvel actor said he learned from the experience.
“For me, it’s a reflection of a life that I don’t live,” he explained. “And I like my private life, I like my friends, I like going out.”
Holland and a woman were photographed laughing and holding hands in July while hanging out with friends. In June, the star told Elle he was “definitely a relationship person.”
“I’m not the fleeting type at all; it’s not my way of life,” Holland said, adding he wasn’t dating anyone at the time.
Despite struggling with the attention on his personal life, Holland has surrounded himself with friends who can offer a shoulder to lean on.
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“I’ve been so lucky that I’ve had friends like Zendaya, friends like RDJ, friends like [Chri] Hemsworth,” he said. “Now a friend like Jake Gyllenhaal, where I can really kind of confide in them, ’cause they’ve been through it before.”
He added he’d felt fortunate to also ask them for career advice.
“I think the best piece of advice I got or saw was how you’re working with actors who are at the top of the game,” Holland said. “Like, it doesn’t get much higher than where they’re at, but they’re also professional and so nice and so humble. So it was a nice eye-opener for me that, like, you can work in this industry and be at that level and not be a dick. You know?”