Tom Holland revealed why he keeps his distance from Hollywood admitting the 'business really scares me'

Jess Battison
2026-03-29T08:34:41.424Z
Entertainment

Holland explained why you won't see him on random red carpets as he confessed to friendships ending

It’s a big year for Tom Holland with July set to see him feature in two major movies.

The 29-year-old is starring in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey alongside the likes of his partner, Zendaya, Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson and Anne Hathaway.

And then two weeks later, Spider-Man: Brand New Day lands in cinemas as Sadie Sink joins the cast with him and his maybe-wife.

But while Holland has some impressive film credits to his name, he’s previously spoke about choosing to keep his distance from Hollywood.

The Brit might be a ‘massive fan of making movies’ but at the same time, the ‘business really scares’ him. Instead, he tries to live a bit more of a normal life.

I mean, we’ve all seen those pictures of him and Zendaya casually heading to Waitrose to do the weekly shop. It wasn’t screaming Hollywood glamour.

Holland opened up about the business. (Jay Shetty Podcast)

And that’s the vibe Holland would rather have.

Appearing on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast in 2022, he admitted that he has ‘definitely walked away from a lot’.

“I think had I not walked away from certain situations – let’s just put it at that – I would be a very different person today,” he explained.

“I’ve been really good at keeping in touch with my friends keeping my family close listening to the lessons not getting caught up in the Hollywood hype.”

Holland went on to admit that he really does ‘not like Hollywood’.

He'd rather focus on what makes him happy. (XNY/Star Max/GC Images)

“It is not for me,” the Marvel star continued. “The business really scares me. I understand that I’m a part of that business and I enjoy my kind of interactions with it.

“But that said, I am always looking for ways to kind of remove myself from it to kind of just live as normal a life as possible.”

The star even confessed that it’s ‘very rare’ for him to do a podcast like the one he was on but he said he’s a ‘fan’ of Shetty and was ‘keen’ to hear what he had to say.

Holland said he’s had an ongoing thought over the years of ‘don’t lose yourself’.

“I've seen so many people come before me and lose themselves and I've had friends that I've grown up with that aren't friends of mine anymore because they've lost themselves to this business,” he continued. “I just am really, really keen to focus on what makes me happy.”

The actor also mentioned that this includes keeping his relationship as ‘private as possible’ as it’s ‘most sacred’.

“ We both feel very strongly that that is the healthiest way for us to move on as a couple. So I do try to keep as removed from it as possible,” Holland added.

“Like, you'll never see me at an award show that I don't have to be at. I'm never going to a red-carpet event that I'm not in the film of, you know, I don't want the attention when I don't need it.”