Spider-Man star Tom Holland shares unusual weight-loss trick

Atlanta, Georgia - The pounds just won't come off? Spider-Man star Tom Holland has the ultimate tip!

Tom Holland (24) had to lose a lot of weight for a role, and he succeeded by jogging and working out in garbage bags.
Tom Holland (24) had to lose a lot of weight for a role, and he succeeded by jogging and working out in garbage bags.  © IMAGO / Future Image

Holland (24) first captured the hearts of audiences when he was just 19 years old. He appeared as Spidey in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, and his career has been on the rise ever since.

Before the release of the upcoming third installment, Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), the British-born actor landed a very different and more serious role playing a drug addict in the film Cherry (2021).

In an interview with men's magazine GQ, he revealed just how demanding the experience was. The drama was shot in Cleveland at the beginning of 2020. The movie, which is based on a book by Nico Walker, is a love story between two drug addicts set before and after the main character's deployment to Iraq.

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In order to look convincing for his portrayal of a junkie, Holland had to lose and then gain quite a bit of weight. Standing at 5 foot 7 and already quite slender, Holland lost a whopping 27 pounds in a very short period of time!

He achieved this, he said, through cutting his calorie intake and jogging – in garbage bags!

Spider-Man: No Way Home could be the last installment with Tom Holland!

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) is likely Tom Holland's last film appearance in the role of the Marvel superhero.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) is likely Tom Holland's last film appearance in the role of the Marvel superhero.  © IMAGO / Future Image

The 24-year-old openly admitted that he never wants to lose that much weight again.

The shooting schedule for Cherry made it all even trickier. The scenes featuring a very thin drug addict had to be filmed before the those that had his character in deployed with the US Army as a marine. That meant Holland didn't only have to lose a lot of weight, but he also gain it all back in record time – plus an extra bit of bulk!

The actor described the situation as "awful" and "brutal," with his trainer telling him he was only allowed to eat 500 calories a day. He was also expected to jog 10 miles every day.

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"I got very sick, actually. And it’s changed my relationship with food completely. I think I would find it very difficult to find a role that would warrant that sort of abuse on my body again," he said.

Fortunately, Holland's next project sounds more conventional: he will appear as treasure hunter Nathan Drake in the video game adaptation Uncharted. In the meantime, Cherry will be available on Apple TV+ starting March 12.

For the time being, Holland is concentrating entirely on part three of Spider-Man, which could be the last. As the star revealed, his contract expires at the end of filming, with no extension in sight.

Cover photo: IMAGO / Future Image

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