Tom Holland may be the best Spider-Man we’ve seen so far. If not the best, then we can agree that he is by far the most high-tech. Holland is a natural talent, having never attended a single drama lesson.
He might have inherited his performance genes from his father, Dominic, who is also a celebrated performer. Holland’s parents have done all they can to support their son’s craft, and Holland has regularly praised them for their effort.
It’s common to see Tom’s parents accompany him to award shows and film premieres. Read on to find out more about them.
Tom’s dad is a comedian, broadcaster, and author
Dominic Holland was born on 6th May 1967 in Brent, Middlesex, England. He was raised Catholic, and he attended the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School. Dominic met Tom’s mom, Nicola Frost, while he was studying textile management at Leeds University. Dominic and Nicola got married and went on to have four children.
Tom’s dad made his stand-up debut at The Comedy Café in London. He talked to Dubai Eye about what inspired him to become a comedian;
“I was not very bright at school, I was never very good at sports, I was very small, I was very immature. But I always knew, when my parents’ friends came to stay or at school, the one thing I was better than, or as good as was being funny.”
In 1993, Dominic won the Perrier Best Newcomer award during his first year at the Edinburgh Fringe. That same year, Dominic made his debut TV appearance on Harry Hill’s show Lafter Hours. He went on to make numerous guest appearances on TV shows such as The Clive James Show and The Brian Conley Show.
In 2000, Dominic presented his first radio show, The Small World of Dominic Holland, on BBC Radio 4. His second radio series, Holland’s Shorts, also aired on BBC Radio 4. Holland also tried out acting, and he has several film appearances to his name. He also tried to write plays, but none of his screenplays made it to film.
Dominic is a talented author, and he has written three novels. He also worked for The Guardian for two years as a writer.
Dominic didn’t expect Tom’s career to take off like it did
Holland started his career as a theatre performer and seamlessly made the transition into film. He gained recognition after playing his first starring role in the 2012 film, The Impossible.
The main thing that surprised Dominic about Tom’s career was how quickly he rose up the ladder to Hollywood success. Tom didn’t attended a drama class before landing his first major role. Dominic told Dubai Eye;
“It’s a total fluke what happened to my son Tom. It has been a fluke because there’s been no stage school, there’s been no drama lessons… He was spotted inadvertently in a YMCA at a little local dance class, and from there went into the West End, from there went into movies, did all these movies incredibly successfully. He had no training. We didn’t know where it was coming from.”
Tom eclipsed Dominic’s achievements in a matter of a few years
Dominic spent most of his career looking for a way to make it big in Hollywood. However, he never found a way to take his career beyond the borders of the United Kingdom. His son, however, did what Dominic couldn’t before he was 18.
It’s a fact that Dominic acknowledged after Tom appeared in the film, The Impossible. He wrote a book about it titled, How Tom Holland Eclipsed his dad. He also wrote op-eds on The Daily Mail and The Independent about Tom’s achievements.
“So, looking at my son, Tom, standing next to me in the immigration queue at the airport in Los Angeles, I realized that, at the tender age of 16, he had already eclipsed his father’s own showbusiness career.”
In The Independent, Dominic detailed Tom’s success over his own in further detail. He said; “My eldest son, Tom, is now 16 and the unwitting star of a rather unique family story. A story about how a kid danced his way to Hollywood via the West End and overtook his ‘celebrity’ dad on his way. I am the ‘celebrity’ dad. A somewhat famous comedian, author, and general wit for hire.”
Dominic expected his sons to outdo him, but he didn’t quite expect that Tom would do it at such a young age. He remained supportive of his sons, but one could tell from the articles that he wished that he were a little more successful.
Tom’s mom is a professional photographer
Nikki Holland studied design at Leeds University and went on to become a professional photographer. She has worked in the photography field for over twenty years. Her site has some of her best photos, and a bit about what she does. The site reads;
“I have the experience and confidence to know that from every shoot I can achieve results that my clients will appreciate for many years to come and is worthy of their time and financial investment.”
Nikki’s work was featured in Tom’s 2013 movie, How I live Now. The producers wanted to create a film-set where the family lived with photos of their younger days, and Nikki was on hand to provide a photo of young Tom with his first girlfriend.
Tom thanks his parents for keeping him grounded
Success came thick and fast for Tom after his breakthrough appearance in The Impossible, and he thanks his parents for keeping him grounded. While speaking to The Evening Standard, Tom stated that his dad is never afraid to tell him the truth. Tom said;
“In this industry, everyone says you’re amazing, everyone says yes. The only people that tell me no are my parents. It’s so important for me to have that grounding because otherwise you get lost in the clouds. My parents have chained me to the floor! It’s so important and I’m so grateful that they’ve done that, because otherwise you can get lost in this beautiful world that is Hollywood.”
Holland maintains a close relationship with his parents and his younger brothers. He lives just down the street from his parents’ house. Tom told Ellen DeGeneres that he originally planned to move to L.A.;
“I was kind of planning to move out here to L.A., but now I’m only just moving five minutes away from my mom.”
Tom’s mom didn’t like the snippet Tom sent of his performance in Cherry
In Cherry, Tom plays the role of an army medic who’s come back from Iraq suffering from PTSD. He then develops a cocaine addiction.
Director Joe Russo had promised that the film would have a horror element. Unfortunately, Tom sent home a clip of the film that typified the film’s horror element.
The clip showed Holland writhing in a prison cell. Needless to say, Nikki didn’t enjoy seeing her son in such a state. Tom told People:
“I guess I wasn’t thinking right, and I was like, ‘Do you know who would really like to see this? My mum. In hindsight, it was a really stupid thing to have done. I think when my mum goes to see my film, in particular, the things she likes the most are the moment she goes, ‘Oh that’s my little boy.’ But in this film there’s nothing like that.”
Tom’s parents eventually watched the whole film and were proud of their son’s effort. “They were able to enjoy it as a movie and not as a biopic of their son doing heroin,” Tom said. “They are really proud, and they really liked it.”