Tom Holland Is Taking A Year Off After The Limited Series ‘The Crowded Room’ Led To Him Having ‘A Bit Of A Meltdown’

Tom Holland only became famous a handful of years ago or so, when he was cast as the third live-action Spider-Man in less than two decades. He’s been very busy since then, doing dramas and other blockbusters and, of course, lip-syncing to Rihanna. The guy needs a break, and after the grueling experience of making the limited series The Crowded Room, that’s exactly what he’s doing.

The British actor made the announcement during an interview with Extra, which he called “a tough time, for sure.” In the Apple TV+ series, which also features Amanda Seyfried and Emmy Rossum (as his mom, no less), he plays a young man who’s arrested for his part in a shooting that occurred in 1979’s New York City.

“We were exploring certain emotions that I have definitely never experienced before,” Holland explained. “And then on top of that, being a producer, dealing with the day-to-day problems that come with any film set, just added that extra level of pressure.”

On one hand, Holland “loved the learning curve of becoming a producer,” On the other, doing busy producer stuff while also tapping into dark mental states understandably proved a bit much:

“I’m no stranger to hard work. I’ve always lived by the idea that hard work is good work. Then again, the show did break me. There did come a time where I needed a break and disappeared and went to Mexico for a week and had time on a beach and laid low. I’m now taking a year off, and that is a result of how difficult this show was. I am excited to see how it turns out. I feel like our hard work wasn’t in vein.”

Holland has spoken about his struggles making The Crowded Room before. “I was seeing myself in [the character], but in my personal life,” Holland told Entertainment Weekly last month. “I remember having a bit of a meltdown at home and thinking, like, ‘I’m going to shave my head. I need to shave my head because I need to get rid of this character.’ And, obviously, we were mid-shooting, so I decided not to. He added, “It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.”

So good on you, Tom Holland. Go out there and spend your Marvel movie and sit on beaches and take trips and use ziplines or whatever it is incredibly young and wildly successful people who are dating other young, successful people do these days.