Tom Holland turned down hosting Saturday Night Live because of his dyslexia
By Lauren Del Fabbro, Press Association Entertainment Reporter
Tom Holland has said one of the reasons he has never hosted Saturday Night Live (SNL) is because of his dyslexia.
The 30-year-old English actor is best known for starring in the Spider-Man movies as Peter Parker.
Holland, who will soon appear in Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of Homer’s epic The Odyssey, said that his worst day at work as an actor is doing the read-through as he sometimes struggles reading out loud.
Speaking to SNL veteran, comedian and actress Amy Poehler, on her Good Hang podcast, he said: “I’m heavily dyslexic which is one of the reasons why, and I’d love to talk to you today about it actually, I’ve never done SNL.
“I’m just so petrified at the concept of trying to read something and they change.
“I can read fine but when I have to read out loud, it just becomes like a mental block and I can freeze.
“My worst day at work is the read-through. Like at the read-through, I will try and highlight everything and learn my lines ahead of time so that I am more skimming it than I am reading it.”
The actor said he felt “really lucky” that SNL have reached out to him a few times to host the show. However, he said he is “just really scared” to have to read cue cards out loud.
He said: “I love the show and I love the idea of having fun and making a fool of yourself in such a fun, creative way. It’s just that thing of the cue cards.”
The film actor stars alongside Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and his partner Zendaya in Nolan’s The Odyssey, describing the job as “a dream come true”.
He said: “I think The Odyssey, the most recent film we did, was one of the toughest jobs I ever had.
“(Chris) is an absolute dream. He is so fun to work for.
“It’s a delight. I absolutely loved working for him. I admire him beyond belief.
“His crew is without a doubt the best that I have ever worked with.”
Speaking about working on the set he added: “It’s a very focused place. It’s definitely fun. I laughed a lot when I was there and we had a really good time, but it’s definitely we are there to do a job.
“We are there to try and create something that has never been done before.”
Holland went on to say he could not imagine navigating the industry without his partner, Euphoria star Zendaya, and praised the actress for being one of the best in the business.
He said: “I think she’s the best actor going. I really think she has like something special.
“It’s a wild world being in this industry.
“There are ups and downs and you go from shooting a movie, which is when we’re all at our most comfortable, and then you do a press tour which feels like you’re kind of standing out on the stage.
“It’s so nice to have someone that understands that in such a personal way so that you can talk each other down or you can big each other up.
“It’s a lifeline. It it really is.
“I couldn’t imagine doing what I do without her.”