Tom Holland confirms role as Fred Astaire
Spider-man star Tim Holland will be starring as Fred Astair in the upcoming Sony bioptic.
Tom Holland, star of Spider-Man, is trading in his web-shooters for dance shoes. On Sunday, the 25-year-old stated that he'll play Fred Astaire, the iconic actor, dancer, and singer, in a Sony biopic.
In a recent interview with GQ, Oscar-nominated producer Amy Pascal indicated that she wanted Holland to play Fred Astaire in the upcoming picture, as well as another Spider-Man trilogy.
However, during an interview with the Associated Press at an event promoting the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home, Holland stated that he will fill the entertainer's dance shoes for the project, which is still in the early stages.
“The script came in a week ago,” Holland told reporters. “I haven’t read it yet; they haven’t given it to me.”
Holland added afterward: "I'm going to be Fred Astaire."
Given Holland's past as a performer, the news that he will take on the persona of the renowned song and dance man comes as no surprise. Holland began his acting career on the London stage, where he starred as Billy Elliot in the West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical from 2008 to 2010.
Who is Fred Astaire?
Astaire, regarded as one of the greatest popular music dancers of all time, featured in over 30 film musicals in addition to a seven-decade stage career on Broadway and the West End. Astaire is usually remembered for his pairings with Ginger Rogers, who starred in several films with him, including the classics Swing Time, The Gay Divorcee and Top Hat.
The film featuring Holland isn't the only Fred Astaire project in development right now. In an upcoming film from Amazon Studios and Automatik, Jamie Bell (who, ironically, originated the part of Billy Elliot in the Oscar-nominated 2000 film) will play Astaire against Margaret Qualley's Ginger Rogers.
The biopic will be produced by Bell and Qualley and will follow the dance duo's career from Flying Down to Rio in 1933 to The Barkleys of Broadway in 1949.
Holland is focused on his newest excursion as Peter Parker in Sony and Marvel's No Way Home, his seventh appearance as the web-slinging superhero until it's time to suit up as Astaire.
No Way Home debuts in theaters on Dec. 17.