Tom Holland Is More Than Spider-Man: On Living Alcohol-Free, Acting With Authenticity, & Launching A Second Career

26:39And it's been so long since I'd done it that it felt like the first time. And it was an amazing experience. You know, I wasn't planning on doing theater. I just kind of was, I was at home. I had taken my year off. There's obviously been a whole load of things that have happened in our industry that kind of put a pause on a bunch of things. And I was like itching to find something to do. I've always been really scared of going back on stage because it's just feels so exposing. Yeah. Nowhere to hide. There's nowhere to hide. And it's different from mocap. Yeah. Yeah, when you can change something or say, could you just move my arm a little bit further out?

27:21And I think that's what really excites me. Like when something stresses me out, I was chatting to my friend yesterday about this actually. I work really well when I don't think about whether or not I should do it or not. Like with the play, they called me up and they said, look, if you want to do this, you need to let us know today because we got to book the theatre. And we'd been speaking about doing this for maybe five days. hadn't spoken to my family about it. I hadn't really spoken to my girlfriend about it. And on the phone, I was like, fuck it, I'll do it. I'm happy to do it. And then I started to panic because I was like, what have I done?

27:55Like, why am I doing this? But when I put myself under that kind of pressure, that's when I do my best work. When I start feeling really uncomfortable because it, that level of uncomfortableness drives me to do the work and be focused and learn my lines and break it down and understand the language and try and do something different and unique to what's been done before. But I loved it. I really loved it. There's two things here. First, you're tackling Shakespeare. Yeah. So it's no small. And I've never done that before. In the UK. In London. For UK audiences. So, you know, the degree of difficulty just goes like through the roof, right?

28:31And then secondarily, how long was the run? The run was three months. It was eight shows a week. And it was fucking tough. That is an endurance. Yeah, like having to do that every day, sometimes twice a day, right? I was in London last summer and I was with my youngest daughter, who's 17 now, and we went to go see Paul Meskel in Streetcar. And it's such a visceral performance, right? And he has the legacy of Brando on his shoulders, like the pressure that would come with that. And then I was just imagining like, this guy's got to do this every day, sometimes twice a day. Yeah, it was intense. Like that's super intense.

29:10And then you do the backstage thing and like you have to go greet all your fans every night did you do that open up the back door and sign the autographs and do all that on top of the whole thing well I guess a bit of a blessing was that we had loads of people show up and backstage was was really like a red carpet every night so what I would do is I would sign cards in my dressing room it's not like a hundred cards and then the security outside the theater would hand them out because it just I wouldn't have been able to get to everyone it would have been too crazy so I kind of came out and did a smile and a wave and said thank you and stuff and then got in the car.

29:46But the keen fans that got out first got a little signed card. But it was an amazing experience. I mean, trying to stay mentally focused and not allow the show to kind of run on autopilot was really a real challenge. Trying to stay engaged and make sure that you're constantly listening. And, you know, we'd have understudies come on at certain times and they would change the tone of a scene or the speed of a scene and you had to be able to pivot live which I found really difficult but by the end a skill that I didn't know I needed that I've really kind of improved upon because you know when you work with Downey on set what's great about him is he'll improvise and if it lands he'll do that again but what's quite nice for you is you know that oh he's going to say that again So I have some time to prepare.

30:38He's so quick that even if I write a joke that he has no idea about and then I improvise a line, he'll use my joke to set up a punchline of his own joke somehow. He's like so good like that. You're never going to match wits with that guy. No. Yeah. And I think that having done the play and being able to pivot in the ways that we had to pivot when things would go wrong or someone would skip a speech or, you know, an audience member's phone went off and you'd have to kind of keep going and not let that distract you. I'm really excited to see how I've improved as a performer the next time I go on set.

31:15because it really feels like a great place to sharpen the tools and try some new things out. And you get a little bit more freedom because, you know, once the director leaves, it's kind of your show. And you're working with the actors at warm-up saying like, tonight I want to try a little bit like this. Do you mind if we just, can you set me up with this line, change the rhythm slightly so I can land this joke? And it was such a pleasure. It was such a pleasure.

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36:56how do you make decisions about the projects that you want to get involved with i'm saying that thinking about you know somebody who's you know steeped in the mcu yeah and with that there's expectations and pressures and a certain kind of preset trajectory for an actor of your stature. But when I look at the choices that you've made, you're making all kinds of interesting different choices that are challenging you. And some of them work out and some of them don't, but it all feels like an experiment and you trying to find new ways to express yourself. I think that's perfectly put. It's an experiment.

37:36And I try not to think about what will this do for my career? Is this an awards piece or is this a box office bonus movie? I just, is it something I'd like to watch? It's really my biggest indicator as to whether I would do it or not. And I just love being challenged. My favourite thing about my job is that I get to try new things and sort of live in different skins every now and then and become these different characters. And I just love the idea of being told, right, you're going to Nebraska for four months to shoot a movie. I'm like, okay, great. I would never go there normally. so it'd be great to go and spend some time somewhere so I just I love everything that comes with it and it's less for me about is this going to be good for my career and more just am I going to enjoy making this I read a script a few days ago which I won't talk about because it's still being shopped around town but it was like it's the first time in my career that I've read something and gone I just don't have the energy to shoot that right now it was too intense and it was a lot of action and all that sort of stuff.

38:40And it's the first time I've gone, do you know what? Reading those sequences, I don't want to make those right now. When you're thinking about the choices that you're making, in addition to like kind of just what lights you up generally, is it the script? Is it the director? I'm sure you have a list of directors you want to work with, ambitions about, you know, maybe long-term, like what you want your career to look like and the various roles that you want to explore. But do you have a sense of what you want to do next or even what that is? Sounds like you haven't decided yet. No, I have like three or four things that I'm kind of juggling with right now.

39:16The biggest of which is my sort of re-entry into the MCU and what that looks like. It's been a really fantastic experience that Tom and Kevin have allowed me into the kind of creative bubble of Marvel. and I've got to see firsthand how these films are built from the ground up. It's been so fun to just sort of sit in the room and see these guys pitching ideas back and forth and every now and then I'll chime in with something. And first and foremost with Marvel, I'm a fan. I grew up loving those movies. So to sit in the boardroom with them and they've got this great mural on the wall of all the heroes and to kind of hear them talk about the movies and I'll come up with an idea and they'll say, no, you can't do that because we're doing that in the new Captain America movie.

40:03it's all mapped out it's really cool to just see how they've got this vision for the future and um i just love being a part of that but in terms of what i want to do next i just love working on set i love the camaraderie i love the community and you have akiva goldsman and we have akiva who was fantastic and to be honest wrote the best scripts i've ever read it was so easy to say yes to that job when i started reading his work i was like wow this would be such a pleasure he's the gold standard he is the gold standard he's fantastic and he did a great job and he was so he was very brave to tackle that subject matter in the way that he did considering his past and his background um to touch on some of the personal things that have happened to him in his life i think is something that we should celebrate and admire because i'm sure he's helped a lot of people that have been through similar things through that show so i'm really proud of him that he tackled it in the way he did.

41:01Yeah. Well, I'm sure he's proud of you. I'd hope so. For how you acquitted yourself in that role. Yeah, it was a tough one. Yeah, yeah. The haircut alone was a tough one. I kind of liked it. I thought it was cool. I thought, I didn't know that that was a wig. I was like, you should grow your hair long. It was my real hair. That was my hair. Oh, they colored it. Yeah, they'd made it darker. And then the studio were really against the idea of me having bangs. And I just really thought that it was like the icing on the cake that would set the character apart. A good tip I got from Jake Gyllenhaal, actually, when we worked together, who I love, was that you can do so much of your performance in hair and makeup, so much of it can be done before you've even opened your mouth or opened your eyes.

41:44And I've really taken that to heart, you know, like subtle nods to different characters here and there or slightly changing the colour of your hair or even something like changing the colour of your eyebrows ever so slightly, I think really helps disconnect the audience from who you are, especially when you play a character as high profile as Spider-Man, you're so recognizable as that character. So the studio were like, no, you can't cut your hair like that. We're not allowing it. We don't want you to do it. And I went straight to my trailer and sat down with Rachel and was like, right, let's fucking cut my hair off then.

42:15Oh no, how'd that go over when they became aware of that? I remember walking into the camera test and the cinematographer was not happy. But I actually think it was a really good decision. I think it just brings a level of authenticity to the character. And it's so different and unique to that time that it works. But bless Zendaya, she always talks about, she's like, no, I thought you were handsome with it. But I know she's just being kind. It was a rough look. What do people not understand about being part of this MCU universe? I mean, this isn't just a series of movies. This isn't just its own cottage industry.

43:00This is almost like a nation state. Like it's so massive. There are so many team members and people that contribute to these movies. So many moving pieces. It's bigger than any actor. It's bigger than Robert Downey Jr. You know, it's just so gigantic. Do you find that disorienting? It sounds like you found it nourishing. And all the actors that are in these movies always talk about how much they love making these movies. I think firstly, what sets it apart from anything else is the community and the sense of ownership over the characters from the fans to the studio. I feel like it's the only studio that is working in unison with the fan group.

43:47You know, like fan service is a really big thing at Marvel. Right. And you have to walk this delicate balance between fan service and moving the story forward in new and different ways. Yeah, and I just think that what's so beautiful about the entire thing as an entity is its community. And when I say community, it goes from Kevin Feige to the most diehard fan and everyone in between. And for me, I really love being a part of that. but then in terms of like making the films i think what marvel have done so well and sony i mean i always have to give my credit to tom rossman at sony because he's been like my my american dad since i've moved over here and started working over here like work stuff personal stuff like he's always the guy i call i had a meeting with him the other day where i took my dog to his office he won't mind me telling me that this story so i took him to the office and Tom's like oh I love dogs dogs are great you can bring the dog it's fine and I'm sitting in his beautiful office in Sony and we're chatting catching up talking about golf talking about projects that we'd love to do together and my dog is like trying to get up on the couch and I'm obviously trying to be mindful I don't know what Tom's like leniency is with dog behaviour so eventually he's like he can go on the couch don't worry about it it's fine so the noon jumps up on the couch and it's this beautiful like white couch.

45:11You know the ones with like the, they're like ever so slightly fluffy, expensive. Yeah. There's a box office bonus couch for sure. And Noon just starts digging in the couch. Like, you know, when dogs do that thing where they're like digging and I'm trying to be like, no, Noon, Noon, stop it. And you can tell Tom is like through gritted teeth, like, it's fine. Don't worry about it. It's fine. It's absolutely fine. Don't worry about it. But back to what I was saying. Sorry. I think that they do. Sorry, I just have this flash. I'm imagining Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder playing Les Grossman, the studio exec, like throwing an absolute fit.

45:44Just going nuts. Something like that, yeah. No, but he was very gracious about it. But I could tell that in the back of his mind, he was like, can you please get your dog to stop digging up my couch? But I love Tom. I owe him a lot. He's been very, very kind to me and a great mentor and someone I've learned a lot from. But again, sorry, what I was saying is that when you're on set of a Marvel movie, they're big, there's green screens, there's crews of a few hundred people. But again, that community that Marvel and Sony build is so strong that it doesn't feel like a$200 million movie. It feels like this really small, intimate little character piece.

46:22and that's what I think worked so well with the movies is that the fans feel like they can connect to the characters on a personal level rather than it being you just kind of Joe Blow action movie what have you learned other than what you already shared about working with people like Downey because you're surrounded by so many great actors when you're I mean I'm imagining Avengers you're just like they're all there yeah it's awesome yeah especially when I was like really young. I think I was 20 or maybe I was even 19 when I was shooting Civil War. And, you know, I was a diehard, well, I am a diehard fan of the studio.

47:01I felt like I sort of won some competition and was allowed to like be on set for the day. But then when I had to take my mark and do my scene with Downey, it was a really overwhelming experience. And I'm very grateful to Downey because I think I've told this story before. When I did my audition, my audition was like eight pages of dialogue. It was a long scene. Typically an audition will be two pages. Your original Spider-Man audition. My screen test with Downey. So this was kind of like the final step. Although they did add another step, which was like a physical test where we had to do some fight scenes and stuff.

47:33And the scene with Downey was great. The audition went really well. I was told by my agents to learn the lines exactly. And that was kind of like a bit of advice, but also because I'd been really lazy earlier in self tapes and I would rewrite things and change it so it fit my mouth better. But they said, in this instance, you have to learn it perfectly. And then when we did my first take with Downey, he just started improvising and changing everything in the script, which kind of gave me license to kind of follow him. And I think something I learned from Downey is like, you can't beat him, but you can ride his coattails.

48:12And those are good coattails to ride. So in that scene, I just kind of followed his lead and we improvised and we did a bunch of stuff. And I thought after that audition, I was like, oh, I've definitely got this. Like that went so well. Is this the one where he helicoptered in? That's the one where he helicoptered in. But what he did, which is so great and so sweet is when I got to set, after I'd got the gig and we came to set, it was me. I was meeting Marissa Tomei for the first time. and I was now working with the Russos and Downey was there. My scene had been cut down significantly from what I'd done in the audition to now a page and a half or maybe even two pages.

48:53And we start shooting the scene and Downey piped up and was like, where's all the kids' lines gone? And the Russos sort of said, well, look, you know, this is already a 140-page script. Like, we can't spend too much time on this. And Downey was the one that was like, no, no, no, you're going to want to spend some time on this. Like let's shoot the whole thing from the audition. You can always cut it, but you'd want to have it. And they used all of it. Yeah. So I owe that to him. That's cool. And I think that's really cool. And I'd love to one day do that. If I'd be lucky enough to somehow bring Mars Morales into my Spider-Man universe and into the MCU, I'd love to, to do for a young kid, what Downey did for me.

49:32Well, it's a way of honoring the introduction of a new character. And yeah, a certain level of respect, like in that audition, clearly he's intentionally throwing curveballs at you to see how you can handle it. And when you were like, all right, he's on his game, like, you know, we're in this together. But it's an interesting thing you asked about, like, what have you learned? And it's like, when you work with someone like Chris Pratt, he's so funny. It's like, don't try and out funny him. Try and elevate him to be funny. Like if you're in a scene with someone and the audience is laughing, I think both people in that scene are winning.

50:10And I think sometimes I would really try and get hung up on like, I want to be the one that's getting the laughs. But I think there's just as much honor in like setting up the laugh. And when you're working with someone like Downey or Chris, who are just so effortlessly funny, let them be funny and try and make them funnier. And that's something I've learned. Again, don't swim upstream when you can swim downstream. Well, that's back to the team sport aspect of the whole thing. Totally. Because at the end of the day, is like there's no pictures on a scorecard. Like you want the movie to be as good as it can be and as successful as it can be.

50:42And if that means that, you know, working with Jacob on Spider-Man, his character is the funny one. I find the humor in being stoic and his humor comes from being funny. Right, because his humor is elevated the more stoic you are. If you're trying to be funny, then it destroys the whole scene. So are you in service to the scene or are you in service to yourself? And that's the biggest part of acting is like being able to separate yourself from your own vanity, which we all have. We all look in the mirror before we leave work today and go, God, I'm having a bad hair day or I'm having a good hair day.

51:16And the moment you're thinking on camera of like, do I look good? Do I sound good? Is this funny? The audience can subliminally pick up on that, I think. So it's important to leave vanity at the door. Yeah. Easier said than done when you're in the biggest movies in the world and these movies are grossing in excess of a billion dollars and your face is everywhere. And you're a young dude, right? So how did you avoid the pitfalls and the common mistakes that a lot of young actors make when their star sends quickly like that? I mean, you said you had years in advance of that, but still you're pretty young.

51:58Many a person has fallen prey to the allures of this town. Yeah, it's interesting. I was having a conversation about this sort of thing recently and I was chatting with a fellow actor of mine and we were sort of saying like, I miss the days when like getting the gig was the win. But now the gig being successful is what is the win. But I feel like I held onto that for a really long time. Even after Spider-Man, getting a new job was just as exciting as being cast as Spider-Man. And I think that having that kind of freedom and in some ways ignorance to like what it was that I was doing was really helpful for me in building confidence in my own capabilities.

52:41So I just I just never really give it much thought. I try not to think about the fact that millions of people will see it and I'm going to be scrutinized. It's more that thing of like, if I like it and I know I've done my best, a really poignant piece of advice I got from my dad. Again, my dad is like my go-to. If I'm struggling with something or if I need some help or a bit of a boost, like I'll call my dad. I really admire him. He told me a story about Lee Evans, who's a really famous comedian in the UK. He's brilliant. Very performative. Very cartoon-like. like creates these fantastic characters on stage.

53:22He sweats like a pig, like he'll wear a suit. And within 10 minutes of being on stage, he's like dripping with sweat. And my dad told me a story about when they were kids, they did a gig together at like a pub, maybe a couple hundred people in this pub. And Lee was backstage putting eye drops in. And my dad was a bit like, they might've been in their late 20s at this point. He's like, what are you doing? And he goes, oh, it makes my eyes glisten. And my dad kind of thought to himself, but like Lee, there's only 200 people out there. You're not playing an arena. And I think what my dad took from that lesson, which he passed on to me was like, whether it's 100 ,000 people or five people in the audience, your best is a minimum.

54:05You can't half-ass anything. You can't mark through anything. And I think I've taken that on board quite heavily. I've always given everything 100%. I remember that all the time. My dad telling me that story about, I've never met Lee and I know that they were really close when they were younger, but that story always really stuck with me. Yeah, it's cool. The little things are the big things. Yeah, they make a difference. Yeah. And those little tiny details like Jake was talking about with makeup, like those tiny attention to details can really be a make or break in building a convincing character.

54:39But even if no one notices, like you notice. You notice, yeah. For your own relationship with what you do. Nothing brings me more pride than sitting in a theater watching something I've been a part of and seeing an idea I had come to life. Nothing makes me more happy. That's got to be a crazy experience. Especially when it comes to something like a Spider-Man movie where like, had I not been in them, I'd be sat here watching them because I love them. Right. Right. To be given the grace and opportunity to kind of be involved in the creative of those films is one of the coolest things I've ever experienced.

55:16Well, to that point of being a fan, there's this iconic video of you, you know, as a young kid, I don't know how old you were, being asked, like, if you could play a superhero, who would you play? And you say Spider-Man. And I can't help but think, reflecting on that, like either you're an incredibly powerful manifester or there's some kind of predestiny at play here. Like the dancing, like, of course, all the dance experience plays in perfectly to Spider-Man. You love Spider-Man and this kind of like unfolds in your life. There's a surreal aspect to the whole thing, I guess is what I'm saying.

55:53Do you believe in manifestation? I do. I do. We all have a purpose, I think, in our job. Our job here on earth is to grow, is to evolve and to learn who we are. We're all in a constant relationship with becoming, right? And I think the more attuned you are to yourself, the better position you are in to kind of manifest or realize whatever that thing is that you're here to do. And it's different for everybody, right? Totally, yeah. I mean, you're in a very heightened situation, but not everybody can be LeBron James. But, you know, I think everybody has a thing and our job is to kind of discover what that thing is.

56:31And so the manifestation piece is the kind of action oriented aspect of it. But there's also a more gentle kind of letting go and allowing that has to happen in that process. Well, it's that knife edge, isn't it? It's that fine balance of even though in that interview I said I want to be Spider-Man in the future, I didn't just sit back and relax. And then it happened. Like there's manifesting, but there's also work that goes into it. So it's that fine balance of, is it the universe that's making it happen? Or is it something that you're making happen yourself? And I honestly think it's probably a little bit of both.

57:08When you're working hard and for the right reasons, you put yourself in a position for those synchronicities to occur and also to be aware of them when they're occurring, I think. So it is both. It's both of those things. Do you think you've manifested anything? Yes and no. I've worked very hard, but also I'm very aware that I'm not in control, that there are other forces at play. And that, I think, helps with ego and humility, which I think is important. Because if you start to think like, oh, I made this whole thing happen, you're on a crash course with disaster. That's a downhill slope for sure.

57:48Yeah. I think that's the thing with film as well. one of the reasons why it's important to treat everyone with respect on set is because without them on side the movie's not going to work you know and i think that it's an interesting process when you make films because when you wrap on the last day more often than not as an actor you're not allowed in the edit you don't get to comment on cuts you know you might do a bit of adr where you get to see parts of the film and then you see it at the premiere and i think that it's important to make sure you treat people with respect because then they'll treat you with the same respect and hopefully as a result of that the film will be the best picture it can be and i think that you know you have to put a lot of trust into other people and trust is built upon respect i think when you watch any movie but particularly these mcu movies the credit scroll at the end is endless right and you you realize like there's so many people it's incredibly a vital part in getting that vision realized to the screen and the idea that you're not even seeing it until the premiere yeah you go to dailies like do you know are you just well even dailies like you're just in mocap with green screen like you're not even really it's hard to even imagine how that performance is gonna get transformed into what you ultimately see in these movies because there's so much cgi and everything else that goes into giving it a sense of verite yeah and one of the unfortunate things about spider-man 3 was we shot it in like peak covid times so we shot everything in a studio which meant that i think throughout the entire process of making that film i might have done three days on location and you can feel it in the film i think like when we're walking through new york they sent a crew to new york to shoot the streets with a motion camera jib and then they brought that piece of kit back to Atlanta and then they would mark on the floor like there's an extra here there's a dog here there's a sidewalk here and then I would have to try and map out what I was going to do in a pre-existing shot.

59:59Yeah that's bizarre. One of like this is such a weird thing and this can make me sound really difficult but I didn't I got I got over it and we figured it out but like the camera was moving way slower than Peter Parker would usually walk. Peter Parker is very bubbly, very quick. Everything is about getting from A to B as quickly as possible without thinking. And this shot that they had was like this really kind of slow, meandering camera angle through New York. And Peter is supposed to be like in a rush to get to Doctor Strange to ask him this question. And I found it really difficult to like portray i'm stressed and in a rush but walking really slowly and i actually think that shot isn't in the film because i don't think it worked could they just speed up the background footage but then people would be like oh i see all the individual yeah i got you i got you i wish it was that simple yeah yeah but yeah there's a lot of trust involved when you're making a movie like that.

1:00:59Right.

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1:02:39Can we talk about your sobriety? Please, yeah. Yeah. So in, what was it, January of 2022, you decided to put the booze in the rear view? I didn't decide to put the booze in the rear view to begin with. I just decided to do Dry January. And in doing Dry January, it really scared me because I had a really tough time. I couldn't quite wrap my head around how much I was struggling without booze in that first month. And it really scared me. So I decided as a sort of punishment to myself that I would do February as well as January and I would do two months. The second month was no easier. If anything, like it got a little bit harder.

1:03:30So then again, I was starting to kind of panic thinking, damn, like I have a bit of an alcohol thing. I'd had a, you know, quite an upsetting conversation with a doctor about my liver a year earlier. And as a young kid, I ignored the doctor as we all do. And I started to think like, oh, wow, maybe I have a bit of an issue here. So then I started to go, I'll do March. And I got through March and started to feel a little bit better, but was still really struggling. So I said to myself, if I can make it to June 1st, which is my birthday, and I can do six months without booze, I will have then proved to myself that I don't have a problem.

1:04:08I'm just young and enjoying a drink. And then by the time I'd done six months sober, I really started feeling the benefits. I started sleeping better. I was handling stressful situations better. My relationship was better. My relationship with my family was better. my relationship with my work was better and I just sort of said to myself let's do a year let's get through the first year and then that will be a wonderful achievement and then by the time I'd crossed that annual mark I was done I was like I'm never going to drink again because this is the best version of myself what was your relationship with alcohol prior to that decision it was a complicated one because it was my go-to to celebrate and my go-to to commiserate and as an actor working at this kind of juncture there's a lot of that the movie comes out it does really well the tv show comes out and it absolutely dies on its ass and then you go for a job interview that you don't get and you're constantly like this which means that you always have a reason to be drinking or I felt like I always had a reason to be drinking.

1:05:21I was never a bad drunk or anything like that. I just, when I started, I just couldn't stop. I wasn't the type of person that could nip to the pub for a pint. Like if I was going to the pub, I was going to the pub to close it. You're closing it down. Yeah, I wanted to lock the door behind me. But not so bad that the cops aren't getting involved and you're blacking out and waking up in weird places. No, no, no. And that's where I've been so blessed to have the people around me that I've had my brothers my girlfriend my family they never allowed that to happen but left your own devices maybe yeah yeah yeah i've polished off a minibar yeah one too many times yeah so you were like 26 it's interesting actually kevin feige told me a story about when i did my first screen test with downey the night before i polished off the minibar and marvel found out about that they know all yeah the eye of soar on because i i told kevin did i tell kevin or did he tell me but whenever it came up in conversation he was like yeah yeah we know about that we asked the hotel i was like oh shit i still got the job though have you ever talked to downy about yeah yeah yeah yeah he's been a real ally for me he is all in yeah like He works his program so hard and makes sure that it's always his number one priority.

1:06:41Yeah. He's very generous with it. He's really helpful. And Amy Pascal has been really helpful. I had quite a nasty thing happen to me this weekend where I went to a restaurant and ordered a non-alcoholic gin and tonic. And it was alcoholic. And I took a gulp and kind of put it down and was like, wow, that's really good. That really is a great replacement. and asked the waiter to come over to ask what non-alcoholic gin is that because it's the best I've ever had and bless him he'd made a mistake and it really upset me like I was really quite beaten up by it I sort of sat at the table and it was um a real storm cloud came over my head but I spoke to Amy I called her up and sort of was like this just happened and I'm a little stressed out about it and she kind of tempered my nerves which was nice so you you make this decision, you kind of weather this discomfort over a series of months.

1:07:36But you did this on your own, like you didn't go to AA. You sort of course corrected. You had this sense about yourself, like this is headed in the wrong direction. Yeah. Left unchecked. This is going to go to a dark place. And what's interesting is all of the discomfort that persisted for month after month, like there's a difference between abstinence and emotional sobriety, right? Like As I often say, you know, the drugs and the alcohol aren't the problem. They're the solution, right? Like they're your best friend because they're allowing you to divert all those uncomfortable feelings that you experience in various situations.

1:08:15And then when you remove it, you're like a live wire with all these emotions. And it's confusing because you've never really had to confront them because every time they come up, you just take a drink and they go away, right? So what is your relationship with that discomfort? Or like, how did you quell it? Or, you know, what is your way of like working through whatever that is so that you could be in this place of feeling like I'm good, I'm me, I can go anywhere and I don't have that compulsion? It definitely took a while to get to a place to feel comfortable going into bars and pubs and stuff like that.

1:08:49I think the realization for me was that I'm a very confident person, but I'm more confident when I'm pretending to be someone else because the ramifications of your actions aren't real because you're pretending. so i would get really uncomfortable and not confident in social scenarios out in public and i think when you're just being you when i've just been myself and i think that's why i really latched on to drinking because it masked that insecurity with stupidity i guess a little bit that's why like i've always had a really hard time with like campaigns like i did a prada campaign which I loved and I loved working with them.

1:09:36They were great, but I had a really hard time seeing me on a billboard sell something because it was me, Tom Holland, not as a character. So I think that's kind of why I latched onto it so much and through perseverance and kind of gritted teeth and FOMO of not wanting to miss out, I would force myself to go to bars and go to pubs and enjoy the beer garden for the football. And when I realized that alcohol wasn't masking my insecurity or bringing out my best self, it was actually doing the opposite, I then started to feel this freedom of like, oh, I can just be myself and I have nothing to be insecure about.

1:10:18That's when it started to get easier. And I started to really feel the benefit of not being kind of tied to this drink. I used to remember going to parties in LA when I, because at the beginning, you know, as a young kid, you try to fit into the LA world. And now that I've grown up a little bit and I know that it isn't my place to be, I don't try as hard to like go out to the LA parties and mix with celebrities that I don't know. But I used to go to these parties and be like, I can't speak to someone until I'm drunk. Like, I've got to get this going. And now that I've kicked that and I found replacements that make me feel like I'm a part of the process without sacrificing my morning, my afternoon, my next few days has been so liberating.

1:11:04Well, the real gilded opportunity in all of this is that it pulls the covers off all of those emotional wounds or weaknesses or fears or insecurities and puts you in a position where you have to look at them. Yeah, you gotta deal with it. And so here is your opportunity. Like, why is it that like, I'm in movies and I go to a party and I feel insecure when I have to be myself. Like what's beneath that? Like what's driving that? Like, why would I feel that way? And I think like running towards that is the path of healing. Like, you know, going beneath the surface, like, what led me to feel this way?

1:11:40And how can I kind of untie those knots so that I could go anywhere and just feel good in my own skin? And I think, you know, sobriety is tricky. Like, if somebody just has an occasionally problematic relationship with alcohol, maybe there isn't some deep-seated dysfunction that really needs to be dealt with. But if you truly have a problem, to me, in my experience and kind of being in this world for a very long time, like there's always something to look at there and you're presented with this choice. You can either like grip the edge of the table and like white knuckle it, but that's not a great strategy.

1:12:14At some point you're going to crack, right? Instead, you have to release and like be again to what we were talking about earlier, like in this place of acceptance and surrender that is so much harder than anything you've ever had to do where you're using yourself well. It's like a releasing of yourself well, but that's the real gift, right? If you have the courage to like run towards that. And so I guess I'm just curious, like, do you, did that prompt you to do some therapy or to really look at that stuff or how have you kind of confronted yourself in, in, in those, you know, deeper ways? I'm really lucky that I've got people around me that I'm very comfortable speaking openly with.

1:12:58they're by no means like professionals and able to unpack things in the way that a pro would be able to but i've just been very open with my family with my friends you know my friends all drink and you know we've had so many conversations about why i'm giving up or how it's going or they've decided to take a little break and they're asking me for help on you know what's the best way to do this. Facing those demons is just, again, something that I sort of did by myself. The idea of like, sort of pulling my socks up and being like, your mates are going to the pub. You're not going to not go because you want to hang out with your friends.

1:13:38You've been away for six months. You haven't seen them. So you kind of just got to grit your teeth and bear it. And the more I kind of did that, the more I could kind of let go and relax. And then the more I let go and relax, the more I started to feel the benefits of being free and having a life enriched and enjoying the freedom from alcohol. So no, I didn't ever really seek professional help. I just had great family and friends. Yeah. Good for you. Thank you. I feel like culture is shifting. There is such a groundswell embrace of the alcohol-free lifestyle. It's not like it was when I was a young person.

1:14:19There's all these cool movements. Are you familiar with like One Year No Beer in the UK? Like those guys are friends of mine. Like I know those guys. And it's just cool to see people who don't necessarily have a drinking problem, but are like, do I need this? And they go on this journey and realize like their life is so much better to the point. They're sleeping better, et cetera. But their life just expands. There's this idea, like if you stop drinking, like your life is gonna get really boring and small. and it's actually quite the opposite. And I feel like your generation and Gen Z really get this.

1:14:53Like my boys are your age, they're musicians. Trapper had a birthday and they were out like at a bar in Echo Park the other night and they came back and like, they were like, yeah, no one was drinking. They're having like mocktails. Everybody could drive home. Like that just blows my mind. Like I can't imagine being 28 years old and like going to a bar and not everybody just getting absolutely smashed. Sure. It's an amazing thing that it's changing. And I think it's great that, you know, people shouldn't feel pressured to get wasted and drink for any other reason than being social. I love it. And, you know, with these non-alc beers now, I love the idea of like my mates come over on a Tuesday night.

1:15:37They've all got work at five in the morning tomorrow. We can share a few beers. But there's no consequence to it. there's no attachment to it the next day. You get to be rid of it and free and you get to live this life in rich. You don't have to sacrifice anything because I think that's what you're right. People think a life of sobriety is sacrificing the fun, but it really isn't. You just have to be bold enough to like take that step to try it. And once you get across the line, you're like, wow. The social dynamics are the trickiest because people future trip, right? Well, how am I going going to go to this wedding?

1:16:14How am I going to, you know, next year? How am I going to go to this, you know, like I can't imagine. So, so I'll drink today, you know, because that just seems impossible. And a lot of people are in social environments where there is that pressure. It sounds like your friends are not those guys. Like they're not the ones saying, come on, one drink. It's, you know, what's the big deal or putting pressure on you. But a lot of people do are in environments like that. Yeah. And I hope that can change. You know, I am so blessed. I I mean, my mates that I hang out with, that I used to drink with, they're all tradesmen, carpenters, welders.

1:16:50They work on sets. They build the sets and they love a drink. You're a carpenter too, right? Didn't you study carpentry? Sort of. Yeah. My granddad, bless him, who only passed away a few weeks ago, he was a carpenter and he taught me carpentry. So I'm going to hopefully one day, one of my goals is to have a property where I can have a little workshop on site and keep up that little family tradition of carpentry. I wouldn't call myself a carpenter. I have built things in the past. You know your way around. I could fix a door for you if it came off the hinges. One of my favorite things is if something breaks in Zendaya's house, I take huge pride in fixing it.

1:17:30The other day she has this guest room, which was, it wasn't the greatest room. Like it needed some love. Old school masculinity. Yeah. I like built her these cupboards and put a new wardrobe up for her and like fitted it in. So it looked like it was part of the war. And, um, I was very proud of myself. Yeah. Yeah. Have you ever worked with Harrison Ford? I haven't. So you could chop it up with him. I'd love to chat to him about that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Swapping notes. Right. But you know, I'd love to, um, I'd love to take my carpentry to the next level and, and be at a situation where, you know, a friend of mine says, oh, we're looking for some new bedside tables.

1:18:06And I'll say, oh, let me make you some. Right, in case this whole acting thing doesn't work out. Well, maybe it might be my get out plan. It might be my like sail off into the sunset. Or you'd just be the old codger like in the garden, like making your, you know. Making a bench or something. Yeah, a flower pot. Exactly. Absolutely. Let's talk about Bureau. So you're so passionate about this alcohol-free lifestyle that you actually decided to jump all in and create your own like non-alcoholic beer. So what was the inspiration for that? I think as an actor, in my position, I'd been approached loads of times by different companies to set up something, whether it could be, you know, an alcohol, a rum, a vodka, a beer, a clothing line, all that sort of stuff.

1:18:53And I'd never come across anything that sparked any sense of passion in me. And it wasn't until I got sober and I was dealing with the struggles of getting through that every day. And I noticed a void where there weren't good enough replacements for people like me who wanted to go to the pub, enjoy the social aspects of it, share some golden juice with your friends and then go home. and I thought to myself, wouldn't it be a great thing if I could turn not only my sobriety into a great thing for my lifestyle, but a great thing for my future and a tool for other people who are maybe trying to achieve the same thing that I have.

1:19:41But then also a product for someone like my dad. My dad loves a beer after work or when he gets home, but sometimes he doesn't want to drink, but he just wants to crack something open and drink it. So I just started kind of going around town and asking my agents to help me find people that were setting up these companies. I spoke to Athletic and, you know, I was a big fan of theirs. Bill Shuflatt. Yeah, I tried to kind of get involved there, but they were doing so well that they didn't need any help, which I totally respect. And then I started speaking to my agents about like, well, what if I set up my own one?

1:20:17and you know it's a pretty daunting task but their wme are so fantastic at putting the right people on the table so i met with this company called imaginary who are an investment venture capital company and we kind of had this idea of building our own product and it's been one of the most enjoyable things i've ever done for me it's felt like a school project of like do you guys have The Apprentice in America? Sure. It feels like I'm on The Apprentice. Yeah. Remember the other president who was the head of the... Oh shit, that's right. He did do it, didn't he? Because we had Alan Sugar did it in England.

1:20:56Oh yes, that's right. He did do that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember now. But it's been such a joy working with the creative departments, figuring out what we want the company to represent. I think it's really important for me that Biro isn't ramming sobriety down people's throats. It's for everyone. It's for people that don't drink. It's for people that want to drink less. And it's for people that drink a lot, but one night they just, they need to wake up early and be switched on the next day. And I think that it represents this void in the market. I noticed that, you know, So all non-alcoholic beers like Peroni or Heineken Zero or Guinness Zero, they're all blue.

1:21:44All of their cans have like a blue connotation. So like Bex is Bex Blue, Peroni is Peroni Blue. And I think that's really unfair because it's like you're in the bar with a big signpost saying like, I'm drinking a non-alcoholic beer. So my goal was to come up with something that you could drink in a bar that was as appealing, that scratched the itch as much as a real beer. but you didn't have to pay the price for it in the morning. And something that was inclusionary rather than exclusionary. So my hope is that beer can represent the non-alcoholic beer market and that it can be something where people like myself can feel included in a place where I sometimes feel excluded.

1:22:29It's great, man. I think it suits you perfectly. It's smart when you see people like Ryan Reynolds and George Clooney with their spirits companies. I mean, obviously this is like a smart play for anybody who's in a position like you to explore, but to marry it with a real passion, to be not only kind of the face of this thing, but also an evangelist of a lifestyle that is about community and connection. I think it's great. And I think that this segment, this market is exploding and only gonna continue to grow. So, you know, Bill at Athletic told me his whole story. Like when he started, like he couldn't find anybody to work with.

1:23:11He had a brewer partner and they just couldn't even find anybody to do small batches because everybody was like, there's no market for this. And the products that have always existed have been, to your point, kind of like wave the flag, you know, for the problem drinker where you're just kind of announcing. It feels like they're just checking a box. It's about like the negative aspects of this rather than kind of pushing the ball forward towards like the positive lifestyle aspects of this. Well, I think that the language with alcohol-free drinks is always about what they're lacking. And what we want to promote is what you're gaining.

1:23:50That's why we're kind of coining this idea of a life enriched. Just because there's less alcohol in it doesn't mean that it's less a beer. It's brewed the same. It's the same ingredients. It's just ever so slightly different. So for me, it's not about what it doesn't have. It's what about you gain from having it. And I think that that is something I'm really passionate about. I think to what you asked me earlier, like, what is it about a project that gets me excited in terms of acting? It's like, do I believe in the message? Do I believe in the story? Is it something I'm passionate about? If yes, my foot's in the door, I'm ready to do it.

1:24:28And that's exactly what Bureau has presented to me here. An opportunity to tap into something I've never sort of understood before, but I'm really passionate about making a difference and helping people out. I'd love to have had a Bureau in my first year of sobriety. It would have made it a lot easier for me. And I hope that maybe in the future it can help people afterwards. You brought some, you're going to let me taste some of it? I just was saying it's really interesting, like when you're doing press for something, like a film especially, and it's been a secret for so long. When you talk about it for the first time, there is this weird adjustment process of like, I'm not supposed to talk about this.

1:25:09I've been keeping it a secret for so long. And now the floodgates have opened. And this is the first time I've ever spoken to anyone about this. It's been under lock and key. Even guys at my golf club are like, what is this thing you keep rushing off to work on? and I haven't told anyone. So I'm really happy today. How long have you been working on it? I mean, the creative, we've been working on it for about a year in terms of like the liquid itself, like what it tastes like, the flavors that we want to try and enhance, the branding and the marketing, which is the part of the process that I was most involved with.

1:25:43It was probably what, a five month process, five to six months, seven months, which was great, it was awesome. But then the setting it up and hiring the right people, that was about four or five months beforehand. And we've been so lucky. John, our CEO, I met with two guys. And the moment I started speaking to John, I knew that he was the guy that was going to represent what I wanted to try and create the best. He was very authentic. He was very honest and kind and thoughtful, but also incredibly driven and successful. So I was really drawn to him. And I think how he's helped me and our team get to where we are is a testament to him as our leader, which is great.

1:26:27Yeah, it's cool. So what do we got here? You got a couple for people that are just listening and not watching on video. You got like we have a bureau presentation here. We have three different kinds. So SKUs is a new thing I've learned in my rapid business life. We've got three. We've got Edge Hill IPA, which is like a hazy IPA, which is my favorite. Edge Hill is the hill in which my school is on top of. So that's kind of where I grew up. The green is the Kingston Pils. It's like a classic take on a pilsner. Kingston is where I grew up. So that kind of represents home. And then the cream is the wheat, the noon wheat named after my little dog, which is one of our favorites.

1:27:06And they're great. For me, they really scratch the itch. It's been such a pleasure learning about the process of brewing beer, the difference between brewing non-alc beer and, you know, your full strength beer. And then also having the ability to ask Grant, our brewmaster, I'd love to have a stronger aftertaste of hop with the hazy. And then he'll explain how he'll go about doing that and all that sort of stuff. So being able to build a product that's tailored for my taste that I get to share with everyone has been awesome. Which one should I try? Well, what do you like? What's your go-to kind of beer?

1:27:43I mean, not too heavy. I mean, listen, first of all, I went to treatment in 1998. Okay. So you were like, what, two years old? I would have been two years old, yeah. Okay, so it's been a minute. Okay. You know what I mean? So it is a weird thing because it's been so long and I didn't like get sober and then kind of drink non-alcoholic beer that I'm of two minds with it. Like on the one hand, I think it's fantastic. These things exist, but it's also, it's a weird thing because when I taste it, cause now they're so good, right? Like I'm like, am I having a beer? And I'm like, it lights up a part of my brain that freaks me out a little bit.

1:28:22One of the things I'm really excited about with Biro is that we are never going to bring out a full strength beer. So you know that when you're holding that gold can, you're safe. yeah there's no booze in it so which one the light the the wheat that's a wheat so that'd be like a hefeweizen or a blue moon uh-huh then your pilsner would probably be the lightest of the three let me try that's kind of your standard lager and then this is the really juicy one right this is the i'll taste both but like and by the way i should say this isn't like a you know like this isn't like a sponsored thing no no no there's no yeah like there's no like i'm just doing this because I believe in what you're trying to accomplish.

1:29:04And I think the alcohol-free lifestyle is such an important one. And to the extent that there are options and alternatives out there for people, I'm supportive of that. And that's where it ends. So if people think there was money that got exchanged, no, that's not what this is about at all. Well, cheers. This is my first time sharing a beer. There you go. All right. Well, I'm honored that you would come here first.

1:29:27yeah man it's it's so wild there's like such a vivid sense memory like my brain immediately goes to some party that i was at like you know like when i was you know 25 or whatever sure it's a trip i mean it tastes really good but it is it is like it is it is a little freaky if i'm being totally honest because it's so close and again like back to what i was saying is now that we are getting so close and it's really difficult to discern the difference. It's so important to me that this kind of color coded thing for our company becomes the gold standard of what non-alc is so that you know, there's no sense of doubt.

1:30:07My brain is like, when is it going to, when am I going to feel it? Like I can feel my brain going, okay, just give it a minute. You'll start to feel it. Yeah. But it's not coming. Don't worry. You could drink as many of those as you like and drive home. that's the hazy this is my favorite the ipas were my go-to it's really juicy oh yeah i like that one yeah that's nice i'm also reminded of several months ago i had the guy who founded upside foods in here who is pioneering cellular meat so he's growing oh yeah yeah he's growing like chicken in these like brewing yet i mean it's it is a brewing process almost and he brought his chicken product so i haven't eaten meat in a very long time and tasting that was also like i bet that was wild that's but it is real chicken just without the sentient animal yeah yeah yeah wow it's wild it's really interesting it's a crazy future i haven't tried it i'd be very interested to try it though I mean, it tasted exactly like it.

1:31:16And he would say that it's actually, A, healthier because they can toggle down the saturated fat. Sure. Or they can kind of make it a little bit healthier and it's not infused with antibiotics and hormones and all the like. It didn't grow up in some disgusting situation. Eating shit and stuff. And then also it has the texture and the flavor of what a chicken would have if it wasn't so domesticated. You know, like more like before humans started to, you know, kind of screw with the genome and the living conditions. And what, I know this might sound like a stupid question. But people have a huge thing.

1:31:57They have like, there's a huge resistance to it. Like there's a huge ick factor. Like this is unnatural and I get that. But when you consider how many billions of these animals are slaughtered and the conditions in which they're raised, it begs the question of what is natural. Yeah, and also look at bananas. Bananas aren't supposed to look like they do, but they've been genetically modified to look that way and stay riper for longer and all that sort of stuff. So even the things that we think are natural are not natural. They grow the cells on like a latticework, I guess. Wow. I don't know exactly how they do it.

1:32:36There's a lot that goes into creating the right texture, et cetera. But, you know, they're basically like muscle cells that they're literally growing. So they would just grow a chicken breast? Basically, yeah. How does it work with like growing a chicken leg? I don't know. Do they grow the bone in there or? I don't know. I don't know. But I mean, they're working on, you know, they have beef and they can basically do whatever, you know, and then you're like, well, could you like grow human meat? Like, some of your people are going to be cannibals. It's, like, weird. But I guess, like, that's, like, one step in the direction for, like, regenerative medicine of, you know, amputees maybe in a hundred years down the line.

1:33:16Right, the future of what's possible. Yeah, I went to some conference and there were some scientists and doctors who were pioneering, like, growing heart tissue and lung tissue. Yeah, it's like we're entering a crazy new world. Yeah. I think skin grafts and stuff like that will change. And we work with a charity called Debra in the UK and their American equivalent is called EBRP. It's a charity that helps kids with EB. What's EB? Which is a disease called epidermolysis bullosa. And it's essentially like, to my understanding, we have nine layers of skin that all move over each other. That's why our skin is so flexible.

1:33:57But to someone with EB, their skin is fused together. so they don't have that luxury. So if they were to quickly close their hands, their skin would crack and it's gnarly. They bleed and they're blistered all over their bodies. They have terrible health complications down the line and their life expectancy is very short. The benefit to EB though is that there's only one degenerative gene, whereas with cancer, there's hundreds of thousands of genes that can go wrong. So EB is at the forefront of gene therapy. So when all these people are trying to use gene therapy to kind of change the world, EB is the one that they're trying to solve because they know what the defective gene is.

1:34:38And they've now got these topical treatments and all sorts of different things that are working, that are like making a difference. And there's no cure for it yet, but they are on the precipice of curing it. And when they cure it and they unlock that technology, that will change the world. That's cool. Yeah, it'll be crazy. And philanthropy is a big piece of your life too, right? You have a trust and you have your tentacles in lots of different areas with that. So for me, what I love about the Brothers Trust, which is really the thing I'm most proud of, is the ability to be boots on the ground and see the difference that is made by helping these different people and raising awareness for certain things like EB.

1:35:24No one knows about it. Yeah, I've never heard of it. No one's ever heard about it. So I love being able to bring attention to things like that and all that sort of stuff. And I love being able to see the difference that we make as a trust. We've traveled to see the different charities and I love it. I really find it to be something I'm super passionate about. And my mom, God bless her, she's an absolute saint. She runs the whole family enterprise, right? Yeah. So my brothers and I are kind of like the face of the operation. and then my mom is the engine and she runs it and it's a full-time job for her and she's great.

1:36:02We couldn't do it without her. I'm curious about your relationship with your own potential for transformation because you've put alcohol in the rear view, this thing that was problematic, that was challenging and difficult for you to let go of, right? Those experiences are transformative in and of themselves because they give you this sense of possibility and potential when you unleash something latent like that, right? What's currently challenging you or tripping you up now that maybe you need to look at or address? I think the biggest thing that I'm facing right now, which is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most first world problem that anyone has ever experienced, is the power of choice, and it comes down to Spider-Man.

1:36:51When I signed my contract for Spider-Man 1, I signed a six-picture deal. I was 18 years old. I was more excited than I'd ever been about anything ever. And for the last 10 years, I have been at the beck and call of Marvel and Sony. And proudly so. It's been the best experience of my life. I'm now at a juncture where I can say no. And now that I've been afforded that power, I am struggling to figure out what is the right thing to do. It's meant I've had to put my foot down in certain instances, which I haven't been allowed to do in the past. And I think the learning curve that I'm on right now is dealing with that new sense of power, making sure that I don't abuse it.

1:37:48but making sure that I do the best thing for me rather than for the studio and really the best thing for the character I don't want to make another movie for the sake of making it I don't want studio wants you to make another spider-man oh yeah yeah yeah they do and I want to make another one I want to make many more but I want to do it for the right reasons and now like I said to you earlier, sometimes I miss the day when getting the job was the win. I am navigating and figuring out what having that kind of power means and that responsibility. And I'm figuring it out and I'm speaking to people and asking questions.

1:38:30And, you know, I've been speaking to Downey a lot, especially about him making his return, which is super exciting. He's back. He's gone on that exploration and he still came back to do more. That was a tough secret to sit on. because I have a reputation for ruining things and I strategically have done no press. You're a little loose-lipped around MCU secrets. Yeah. I guess in terms of challenges or things that I'm dealing with, that would be it. And I'm by no means complaining. It's a wonderful place to be. But it is something that keeps me up at night and I'm constantly thinking of like, is this the right thing to do?

1:39:05Am I going to do justice to the character? Am I going to do justice to the fans? I definitely don't want to just make a movie for the sake of it because that's not what Spider-Man represents. So yeah, it's a complicated one. That is. That is complicated. It's going really well though. Yeah, it is. This is what we call a high quality problem. You know, it's like cry me a river, right? But it's a problem nonetheless. I'm not asking for any sympathy. It's a huge decision that has, you know, kind of downstream implications for a lot of people, right? And also interesting to me because I've heard you talk about being sort of an unrepentant people pleaser.

1:39:39And so it's confronting you with your innate people-pleasing tendencies to try to make a decision outside of that that is not only in your best interest, but in the best interest of the franchise and, you know, what is in service to this character that's much larger than you and what you want to do. And the fans as well. I owe everything to the fans of Marvel and myself. They've been so kind and generous to me. After Civil War came out, I felt like Civil War was my audition to the world. I'd gotten the part of Spider-Man. I did the film with the Russo brothers and that came out and that to me felt like my, will you embrace me as Spider-Man?

1:40:22And they did. And I'm so grateful that they did. And I feel like I owe it to them to give and deliver the best version of what the next chapter for Spider-Man looks like. And I think that's really important. And I think the creative integrity for something like that is really important. and the studio is on board and supportive and really collaborative. And I've been so blown away by how welcoming they've been into that creative room. But, you know, we're working now with the pedal is to the metal. We're trying to get it going as soon as possible. Things are looking great, but there's still a lot of moving pieces that need to come together for us to hit the ground running.

1:41:07Right. So what is the ticking clock on this decision and what are the variables? Is it the script, the team, the story? How are you going to make this decision? What are the factors that come into play that's going to sway you one way or the other? I'm not really sure about how much I can talk about in terms of what are some of the challenges we face creatively and logistically. No one's listening. Come on. Yeah. Obviously, one of the things to bear in mind with Marvel is that there is your film is a small cog in a large machine and that machine has got to keep running and you need to make sure that you can fit into that timeline at the right time to benefit the bigger picture.

1:41:49An infinite number of machines across the multiverse. Yes exactly so you know that's one of the challenges we're facing and the time in which we need to get that done is a tall order, but definitely achievable with the fantastic people we have working on it now. But my biggest thing is the creative. We have a creative and a pitch and a draft, which is excellent. It needs work, but the writers are doing a great job. And I read it three weeks ago and it really like lit a fire in me. Zendair and I sat down and read it together. And we at times were like bouncing around the living room. Like this is a real movie worthy of like the fans respect.

1:42:36But there's a few things we need to figure out before we can, we can get that really going. But it's exciting. And I'm really, really excited about it. You straddled that, that question well and avoided all the political pitfalls. Every bit of media training. You said what you needed to say. Yes. Well done. Thank you. Well done. It's not for me to say whether you disclose something you shouldn't have, but you know, It was handled beautifully. Yeah, if this had alcohol in it, I'd be in trouble. Yeah, I'm like, am I drunk? No, I'm not drunk. No, you're having a good time. Well, why don't we close this out with just a few reflections or thoughts for somebody who's flirting with, you know, the alcohol-free lifestyle.

1:43:17Maybe alcohol is a problem, maybe it's not, but they've been inspired by what you had to share about like how much better your life is and they're looking to take the first step. Like, where does that person begin? And how should they navigate it? What can they expect? And maybe some tools that might be helpful. Well, I think for me, try a life of less. And, you know, I think what we have here with Biro is a beer that does both. You know, it scratches the itch of wanting to have that drink. But you don't have to sacrifice the next day. I think that it's a beautiful journey. One that I've made friends for life on.

1:43:54people that I've related to and built relationships with that I didn't have before, but then through sobriety, we've become really close friends. And I just think there's no harm in giving it a go because my lawyer is sober and he's someone that has been really helpful for me, especially in times where I've been at a bar like, oh, I want to have a drink. And he gave me a piece of advice once, which was really helpful, which was you'll never wake up the next day and say, God, I wish I had a drink last night. Never. And that for me has been really helpful. And I hope that Biro can fill that void for people.

1:44:33I'm really proud to be here today. And I'm really proud to have a product that I can stand 10 toes down and represent and believe in the message and know that there's more to this product than making money. Like I really want to make a difference in this space and I really want people to have something that helps them feel included. Very cool. So if people want to learn more about Bureau and pick some up, how do they do that? So October 16th, BureauBrewing.com. You can get it nationwide. And then 1st of January next year, just in time for dry January, we should be in stores nationwide at some major retailers.

1:45:12Hopefully it will grow and grow and grow and the community will grow with it. It's a mission. Yeah. No, it's a mission. And it's and it's needed. You know, there's a lot of a lot of people out there suffering unnecessarily unaware that a better experience of life is freely available. And that's that's the beautiful thing is it's not even freely available. It's like cheaper. Yeah, that's right. Right. It's not even free. It's like you're essentially pay you to do it. Yeah. And if you're hung up about what your friends are going to say, everyone's self-obsessed. They're not thinking about you anyway.

1:45:44And you can put one of these bureaus in your hand and no one will know that. No one will be the wiser and everything is going to be fine. Exactly. There you go. And I feel like with something like this in your hand, like no one's going to be questioning whether that's got booze in it or not because it's a beer. It looks like a beer can. It doesn't have less than, it's brewed the same. It's a beer. It's not blue either. And it's not blue. When we were working with the colors, because I like the idea that the different colors are easy to remember. Something I don't like about craft brewery is when you go to the bar and they're like, which one do you want?

1:46:14And you're like, well, I don't know the names of them. There's like seven different hazy these and hazy that. I like the idea of like, I like an IPA, give me the red one. I like a Pilsner, give me the green one. There you go. Simple. All right, man. Well, I love what you're doing. Thank you. I appreciate you coming here and sharing your message. And you're a, you're a solid young man. Thanks very much. I appreciate it. I'm a fan and consider me at your service. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure. Peace. Fantastic.

1:46:52That's it for today. Thank you for listening. I truly hope you enjoyed the conversation. To learn more about today's guest, including links and resources related to everything discussed today, visit the episode page at richroll.com, where you can find the entire podcast archive, my books, Finding Ultra, Voicing Change, and The Plant Power Way, as well as the Plant Power Meal Planner at meals.richroll.com. If you'd like to support the podcast, the easiest and most impactful thing you can do is to subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, and on YouTube, and leave a review and or comment.

1:47:31This show just wouldn't be possible without the help of our amazing sponsors who keep this podcast running wild and free. To check out all their amazing offers, head to richroll.com slash sponsors. And sharing the show or your favorite episode with friends or on social media is, of course, awesome and very helpful. And finally, for podcast updates, special offers on books, the meal planner, and other subjects, please subscribe to our newsletter, which you can find on the footer of any page at richroll.com. Today's show was produced and engineered by Jason Camiolo. The video edition of the podcast was created by Blake Curtis, with assistance by our creative director, Dan Drake.

1:48:12Portraits by Davey Greenberg, graphic and social media assets courtesy of Daniel Solis. And thank you, Georgia Whaley, for copywriting and website management. And of course, our theme music was created by Tyler Pyatt, Trapper Pyatt, and Harry Mathis. Appreciate the love. Love the support. See you back here soon. Peace. Plants. Namaste.

1:48:48Thank you.