Stepping into the shoes of Hollywood’s most celebrated tap dancer is no small feat, and Tom Holland isn’t taking the challenge lightly. The Spider-Man star recently opened up about his preparation for Sony’s upcoming Fred Astaire biopic, sharing both his dedication to authenticity and the immense pressure that comes with honoring the legendary performer.
Despite his extensive background in dance including his breakout stage performance in Billy Elliot the Musical and his viral 2017 Lip Sync Battle routine Holland admitted that stepping into Astaire’s iconic tap shoes brings a whole new level of performance anxiety.
“It both filled me with excitement and absolute dread because I’ve got so much work to do to try and do Fred proud.”
Directed by Paul King (Paddington, Wonka), the biographical drama aims to explore the dynamic relationship and legendary partnership between Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele Astaire, who dominated Vaudeville and West End stages long before Fred became a Hollywood screen icon.
For Holland, honoring Astaire’s legacy means matching the high technical standards the icon set during Hollywood’s Golden Age. Astaire famously insisted on filming his dance sequences in wide, unbroken shots to showcase full-body movement without camera tricks or editing cuts a tradition Holland plans to fully respect.
“I have a desire to use no doubles, to do all of the dancing, to shoot those dances in one shot, how he would have done it.”
Achieving that vision will require months of rigorous daily training in tap, ballroom, and period movement. While a release date for the untitled biopic has yet to be finalized as script development continues, Holland’s commitment to doing his own stunts—and dancing guarantees an ambitious cinematic tribute to the screen legend.
