Tom Holland opens up about his mental health while filming “The Crowded Room,” a tough shoot that completely changed his perspective on the subject.
After Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tom Holland stars in the thriller mini-series The Crowded Room in which he plays the man with multiple personalities who inspired M. Night Shyamalan’s film Split, a powerful role which affected the actor a lot as he now reveals.
In the Apple TV+ series, Tom Holland brings to life Danny Sullivan, a young man who was arrested in the summer of 1979 for his involvement in a shooting at Rockefeller and about whom we learn more through interviews with the Inspector Goodwin (Amanda Seyfried). The show is based on the true crimes of Billy Milligan, who suffered from dissociative identity disorder.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, via Variety, Tom Holland admitted that he couldn’t help but see himself in certain aspects of his character, which caused him to experience some difficult times during filming, as he explains it below.
I saw myself in [le personnage] but in my personal life. I remember having a little meltdown at home and thinking, ‘I’m going to shave my head. I have to shave my head because I have to get rid of this character. And, obviously, we were in the middle of filming, so I decided not to… It was unlike anything I had experienced before.
SOBRITY AND MENTAL HEALTH
The young actor described The Crowded Room as “insight into the power of the human mind” And “ways in which trauma can be dealt with”. In another interview with EW this time, he also revealed that he had been sober for a year and four months and had changed his perspective on his own mental health thanks to the series.
“Learning about mental health and its power, and talking to psychiatrists about Danny and Billy’s struggles, has been something that has been so enlightening for my own life.”, he said, adding that he was now able to “recognize triggers” such as social networks for example which particularly stress him out.
AppleTV+ Amanda Seyfried and Tom Holland in “The Crowded Room”
“[J’espère que les téléspectateurs de The Crowded Room] have more respect and sympathy for people with mental health issues”, added Tom Holland. “I hope people will feel educated about the powers of mental health, the struggles [et] our incredible abilities to survive.”
In addition to Tom Holland and Amanda Seyfried, the series created by Akiva Goldsman will also feature Emmy Rossum, Will Chase, Sasha Lane and Lior Raz.
The Crowded Room will be available to stream from June 9 on Apple TV+.