‘Spider-Man’ star had rough first day on ‘The Odyssey’

Tom Holland has revealed the extreme extent of the nerves he felt on his first day filming Christopher Nolan’s upcoming epic ‘The Odyssey’.

The 30-year-old Spider-Man actor said he became convinced he was “totally s***ing the bed” with his performance on set, admitting that he feared Nolan was unhappy with his acting – before discovering repeated interruptions were caused not by his efforts, but by the technical limitations of IMAX cameras.

Holland made the comments during a joint interview with Fandango alongside Nolan, Anne Hathaway and Matt Damon ahead of the release of The Odyssey, an adaptation of the ancient Greek epic poem by Homer.

Holland explained his opening sequence was both emotional and significant to the story, making the pressure of filming even greater.

He said: “You know, working with the IMAX cameras for the first time is an experience.”

Addressing Nolan directly, he added: “It is unlike anything I have ever seen before, and I didn’t know that it only ran for three minutes.”

Holland recalled becoming increasingly anxious each time filming stopped.

He said: “So, I remember you would continue cutting, and I was with Jon [Bernthal] like, ‘Why does he keep cutting? Why does he keep doing that?’”

He continued: “And I was like, in my head, I’m like, ‘Does he not like what we’re doing? Like, what is happening?’”

The actor said he later discovered there was a straightforward explanation.

He said: “And then I remember it was actually George Cottle that was like, ‘No, no, no, there’s only three minutes in the mag’. I was like, ‘Oh, thank god’.”

Earlier in the conversation, Holland described the production as presenting “a lot of uncharted waters”, adding the scale of the sequence made it especially demanding.

He said: “I remember it was really challenging. It was a big scene.”

Reflecting on the end of his first day, he said Nolan’s encouragement helped settle his nerves.

He said: “We finished the day, you gave me a hug and a pat on the back, and when I left that day. It wasn’t until I left the set that I was like, ‘Oh, I can totally do this. I can swim in these waters.’”

The film is scheduled for release on July 17 and marks Nolan’s first feature since Oppenheimer won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.