Robert Downey Jr. Made Sure the Russo Brothers Didn't Cut Tom Holland From 'Captain America: Civil War'

Tom Holland is an incredible Peter Parker and Spider-Man. I don’t say that lightly, as I usually prefer when directors or casting agents take a little creative license with the source material. It’s an adaptation! I don’t always want to see the exact same thing that I read/listened to/played/watched on TikTok recreated on the big screen. I want to see the artist’s interpretation of another artist’s work. But dammit, sometimes exactly the same works too.

Holland was introduced as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, becoming the third actor to portray Peter Parker in a theatrical film. He is the highlight of the film. His introduction, being visited by Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, showed a nerdy, young, nervous, but strong character. He somehow managed to represent every version of Parker we have seen. The man was perfect! And, despite claiming to have fought for his inclusion, the Russos tried to cut Spidey’s introduction scene down.

The actor recently appeared on the Rich Roll Podcast. While there, he went into detail about his first time as the web-slinger. According to Holland, the screen test part of auditioning for the role was intense. He was given eight pages of dialogue and memorized it all. When on set, his scene partner, Robert Downey Jr., started improvising. Holland said he couldn’t keep up with the Iron Man star, but the improv made him more comfortable.

It was after Holland got hired that things got surprising. He explained, “When I got to set after I got the gig, my scene had been cut down significantly from what I did in the audition. It was now maybe two pages,” he noted. “Downey piped up: ‘Where did all of the kid’s lines go?’” It was obvious to anyone watching the film that Holland’s Spidey was not only one of the best parts of the film but he was also perfect as the character. The idea that the Russos wanted to trim back his part was bananas.

If there was a lot more, I would maybe understand them cutting things back. The movie was jam-packed to begin with. However, it seems that RDJ made sure what we saw was what we got. “Downey was the one who said, ‘No, you’re going to want to spend time on this. Let’s shoot the whole thing from the audition. You can always cut it, but you’re going to want to have it,’” Holland explained. “And they used all of it. I owe that to him. That’s really cool. I’d love to one day do that … If I’m lucky to bring Miles Morales into the MCU, I’d love to do for a young kid what Downey did for me.”

There’s an argument to be made that RDJ’s Iron Man convincing a barely-tested teenager to fight superheroes makes no sense in a movie where he is guilted into action over the death of a different teenager. But if you’re going to do it, you may as well go all the way; especially when you’ve found someone like Tom freaking Holland.