Tom Holland Thanks Odyssey Co-Star For Helping Him Land Spider-Man Role

Tom Holland has claimed that one of his co-stars in The Odyssey helped him land the role that made him an international household name.

In Christopher Nolan’s new cinematic epic, Tom stars as Odysseus’ son Telemachus, acting alongside Jon Bernthal in scenes where his character travels to Sparta.

Marvel fans will know that the two actors have shared the screen the past in past MCU projects, in which Tom plays Spider-Man and Jon has appeared as The Punisher.

However, what you might not realise is that they actually go back even further, with the two having previously met on the set of the medieval movie Pilgrimage back in 2017.

During a recent interview with MTV UK, Tom was asked if it was true that he and Jon helped one another with their self-taped audition reels for Marvel bosses, which he confirmed to be the case.

Jon Bernthal in The Punisher
Jon Bernthal in The Punisher

Cara Howe/Marvel/Netflix/Kobal/Shutterstock

He then shared: “The thing that I am so grateful for to Jon, he’s truly one of my best pals, is that he encouraged me to show off.

“You know, I’ve been a gymnast and a dancer all my life, and when I did my audition I did a very generic reading of the text, and he encouraged me to add backflips and sideflips and we did a whole little fight scene moment. And I really think that he helped me have a bit of a competitive edge in that race.”

“Love Jon Bernthal!” he then enthused.

Jon is due to reprise his role as The Punisher in the new Spider-Man movie Brand New Day, which is due to hit cinemas later this week.

As ever, the superhero outing will also feature another member of The Odyssey’s cast, Tom’s wife Zendaya, as Spider-Man’s love interest MJ.

The Odyssey is in cinemas now, while Spider-Man: Brand New Day is released on Friday 31 July.

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Tom Holland’s Comments About Playing Spider-Man After 30 Have Come Back To Haunt Him

Back in 2021, Tom Holland made headlines when he told GQ: “If I’m playing Spider-Man after I’m 30, I’ve done something wrong.”

Having now reached that milestone age, his past comments have resurfaced as he gears up for his fourth outing as Peter Parker in the next Spider-Man film, Brand New Day.

So, where does Tom stand on that statement five years later?

“It’s funny, I saw that quote pop up somewhere recently and I kind of reeled, because I was trying to remember what I meant,” Tom told the same magazine in a new interview published the day after his 30th birthday.

The Marvel actor, who is also set to star in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming adaptation of The Odyssey, then tried to clarify what he meant by his past remarks.

“I think the point of it is that I would love to pass the baton on, and I haven’t achieved that yet,” he explained.

Tom Holland as Spider-Man in Avengers: Infinity War back in 2018
Tom Holland as Spider-Man in Avengers: Infinity War back in 2018

Marvel/Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock

As for whether he’ll continue Spider-Man again now he’s actually turned 30, he noted: “It’s definitely something that we talk about a lot at the studio. So, maybe I need to change the quote to 37.

“I could also have been trying to leverage Sony and scare them into thinking I wasn’t going to do Spider-Man 4 now that I had a new deal on the horizon. So I don’t know what it could have been. It could’ve been part of a strategy to create fear.”

Notably, it doesn’t sound like Tom plans to give up that iconic red and blue suit anytime soon, calling the role “the joy of my life”.

“I now kind of stand on the plinth of like, I’ll do it for as long as they’ll have me,” Tom enthused.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day sees Destin Daniel Cretton take over the directing duties from Jon Watts.

Tom also managed to get Marvel to give him a six-month break to make The Odyssey, in which he plays Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, a move which appears to have breathed life into the MCU franchise.

“We wouldn’t have had the six-month period to develop the script with Destin to get it to a place where it is now,” the actor explained.

“I truly believe that we’ve made the best version of any Spider-Man movie going.”

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is released in cinemas on 31 July 2026.

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Matt Damon Says The Odyssey Is ‘Definitely The Biggest’ Film He’s ‘Ever Done’

If you weren’t already hyped for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming adaptation of The Odyssey, you definitely will be when you listen to the cast talking about how epic it is.

With not long left to go until the much-hyped film hits cinemas, Nolan’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning Oppenheimer is already one of the most talked-about new releases of 2026.

The film adapts Homer’s epic Greek poem and follows the King of Ithaca, Odysseus, on his 10-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. On his mammoth journey, he encounters mythical monsters and violent enemies, using his wit to defeat suitors plotting to take his thrones.
In a new video featurette to promote the film, Matt Damon, who plays Odysseus, hyped up the scale of the mythological epic.

“This is definitely the biggest movie I’ve ever done in my career, in terms of its scale,” the actor, who also appeared in Oppenheimer, teased, before adding: “[It’s] definitely the biggest movie I have done in terms of its ambition.”

Zendaya, who plays Athena, also praised Nolan’s ability to “do scope and action and fantasy, but also heart and humanity and depth and rawness”.

Matt Damon and Zendaya in The Odyssey
Matt Damon and Zendaya in The Odyssey

Her co-star, and real-life husband, Tom Holland, who plays Odysseus’ son Telemachus, also explained how it felt that this was Nolan’s best work to date.

“I feel like this particular picture is an accumulation of all of his skills and all of his experiences and him at his best, going for it,” he enthused.

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Last month, in GQ, Matt reflected on how Hollywood films as epic and ambitious as The Odyssey are now becoming an anomaly.

“Because of where the movie business is going, it was a really weird movie for me personally, in the sense that I had almost a nostalgic feeling the entire time I was making it, because it felt like movies were when I started working,” he explained.

Matt added: “And I know that that’s going away. I knew that this was the last chance I was ever going to have to do something like this.”

The Odyssey filmed on location, with the shoot taking the cast and crew to seven countries in total.

“Every single location on this movie would’ve been the hardest location on any other movie I’ve ever done,” Matt told GQ. “And they just went back-to-back.”

The Odyssey is set to hit cinemas on 17 July.

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