British actor Tom Holland was confirmed as the new face of Spider-Man (or rather, Peter Parker) this week by Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures, and if a recent series of videos featuring Holland performing some backyard stunts are any indication of what he’ll bring to the role, he should be quite comfortable playing the acrobatic superhero.
Probably best known for his performance in the 2012 film The Impossible, Holland will make his debut as the teenage webslinger in next year’s Captain America: Civil War before headlining a Spider-Man solo movie in 2017. Just a few days prior to being confirmed for the role, Holland posted a trio of videos on Instagram (embedded below) that featured him jumping, twisting, and flipping through the air — not unlike some of the movies we’ve seen performed by a certain wall-crawling superhero.
Captioned “Bored,” “More fun more fun,” and “Fun fun fun,” the videos might have been an early hint that Holland was close to capturing the coveted Marvel movie role. If nothing else, they certainly inspire confidence in Holland’s aptitude for the physical side of portraying one of Marvel Comics’ most kinetic, acrobatic costumed crime-fighters.
An accomplished dancer before he transitioned to the big screen, Holland spent several years starring in the stage production of Billy Elliot the Musical and earned rave reviews for his talents as both a dancer and actor. He’ll appear later this year in director Ron Howard’s whaling epic In the Heart of the Sea with fellow Marvel Studios franchise actor Chris Hemsworth.
Captain America: Civil War hits theaters May 6, 2016, and the still-untitled Spider-Man reboot is scheduled to premiere July 28, 2017. That film will be directed by Jon Watts (Cop Car).
A video posted by ✌️ (@tomholland2013) on Jun 21, 2015 at 7:40am PDT