Tom Holland has announced that he will take a year off from acting to focus on his mental health.
The English Spider-Man star acknowledged that he had a “tough time” working on his latest film, The Crowded Room, and that it had devastated him.
Holland, 27, stars in as well as produces the Apple TV+ thriller series.
He plays a figure partially based on “the campus rapist” Billy Milligan, a US man who claimed to have 24 personalities.
Milligan was the first person to be judged not guilty of his crimes due to insanity (dissociative identity disorder), and instead of going to prison, he spent a decade in psychiatric facilities.
Holland told additional TV on Wednesday that the part had him “exploring certain emotions that I had definitely never experienced before,” and that the off-camera tasks had brought a “extra level of pressure.”
“I’m no stranger to a hard day’s work,” he explained. “I’ve always believed that hard work is good work.” However, the show did shatter me.
“There was a time when I needed a break and went to Mexico for a week to relax on the beach and lay low.”
“As a result of how difficult this show was, I’m now taking a year off.” I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out. “I feel like our efforts were not in vain.”
“It was a tough time, for sure,” he added.
‘A little meltdown’
In a separate interview with Entertainment Weekly last month, the Bafta winner confessed that he’d had “a bit of a meltdown” after being unable to turn off the character, and that he wanted to shake his head just to get rid of him.
“I was seeing myself in him, but in my personal life,” he explained. “I remember having a bit of a meltdown at home and thinking, ‘I’m going to shave my head.'” I need to shave my head in order to free myself of this character.’
“And, obviously, we were in the middle of shooting, so I opted not to… It was unlike anything I’d ever seen or felt before.”
It’s not the first time the London-born actor has spoken up against such issues. He said last year that he was withdrawing from social media because he believes it is “detrimental” to his mental health.
The previous year, he stated that he was considering abandoning acting, which he began at the age of 11, in order to “go and do other things.”
