Astaire is born.
“Spider-Man” star Tom Holland confirmed Sunday that he’ll be portraying iconic dancer, actor and singer Fred Astaire in an upcoming Sony biopic.
“Oh, I am playing Fred Astaire. Yeah. The script came in a week ago,” Holland told reporters of the project, which is still in its early stages. “I haven’t read it yet; they haven’t given it to me.”
The role was first hinted at in a GQ profile on the 25-year-old actor last month, in which producer Amy Pascal said that she wanted Holland to play the late Hollywood icon in the yet-to-be-titled flick. However, the “Avengers: Endgame” actor revealed that he was indeed cast in the part while promoting “Spider-Man: No Way Home” at a recent press event.
The young thespian added that Pascal had contacted him about the role via Facetime while he “was in the bath.
“We had a lovely FaceTime, but I will be playing Fred Astaire,” Holland mused.
Naturally, Holland will have some pretty big dancing shoes to fill when taking on the part of Astaire. Widely regarded as the greatest dancer in film history, the Omaha-born choreographer has appeared in more than 30 movie musicals and formed one of Hollywood’s most iconic on-screen partnerships with Ginger Rogers.
However, Holland is no slouch himself: He cut his teeth as a stage performer at London’s West End theater, playing the titular role in “Billy Elliot the Musical” between 2008 and 2010. The actor also memorably appeared on “Lip Sync Battle” in 2017, in which a fishnet-wearing Holland danced and sang to a mashup of “Singin’ in the Rain” — from the 1962 Gene Kelly musical — and “Umbrella” by Rihanna.
Holland’s forthcoming project isn’t the only Fred Astaire flick coming down the pipeline. Jamie Bell, who played “Billy Elliot” in the 2000 film, will star as the legendary entertainer opposite Margaret Qualley’s Ginger Rogers in a new movie for Amazon Studios.
Holland is currently focused on his latest appearance as Peter Parker in “Spiderman: No Way Home,” which hits theaters on Dec. 17.
Contrary to prior rumors, this reportedly won’t be Holland’s final hurrah as the web-slinger: producer Pascal allegedly plans to make yet another “Spiderman” trilogy with the actor in the title role.
