For the last five years, Tom Holland has been bringing Spider-Man to life in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But before the opportunity to play the webslinger came along, he pursued a role in another Disney-owned blockbuster franchise. In a recent interview with Backstage, Holland revealed that he was one of several young actors who auditioned to play Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Obviously, the role of Finn ended up going to John Boyega, who played the character in all three installments of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. But Holland’s screen test was apparently so dreadful that he now considers it one of his most embarrassing audition experiences.
“I’ve had quite a few,” said Holland. “I’ve read the wrong lines at the wrong audition before. I remember my audition for Star Wars, I was like four or five auditions in, and I think I was auditioning for John Boyega’s role. I remember doing this scene with this lady, bless her, and she was just a drone. So I was doing all of this, like, ‘We gotta get back to the ship!’ And she was going, ‘Bleep, bloop bloop, bleep bloop.’ I just couldn’t stop laughing. I found it so funny. And I felt really bad, because she was trying really hard to be a convincing android or drone or whatever they’re called. Yeah, I obviously didn’t get the part. That wasn’t my best moment.”
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Lucasfilm announced The Force Awakens’ full cast in the spring of 2014, and clearly, Disney held onto Holland’s number. Because a little over a year later, he was officially cast as Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, which boosted his profile and allowed him to book a diverse assortment of roles in other projects. Next month, Holland will appear opposite Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley in Chaos Walking. He also stars in Cherry, which reunites him with Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo and hits Apple TV+ on March 12. Last fall, Holland wrapped production on Sony’s Uncharted movie and and he’s currently shooting Spider-Man 3, which is scheduled to premiere on December 17.
Do you think Holland would have made a good Finn? Would you like to see him appear in a different Star Wars film? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!
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