Actor Tom Holland has revealed that his wife Zendaya jokingly gave him an ultimatum to accept a role in Christopher Nolan's epic “The Odyssey”.
Holland initially hesitated due to scheduling conflicts with “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”, prompting Zendaya to playfully threaten to "leave" him if he turned down the legendary filmmaker’s project.
During an interview alongside co-stars Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway and filmmaker Christopher Nolan, Holland recalled the conversation he had with Zendaya after receiving the offer to play Telemachus, the son of Odysseus.
"To be honest, when I got home after our meeting, I sat down with Z and was like, 'I've been offered this movie,'" Holland said.
Recalling Zendaya's reaction, he shared, "She was like, 'By who?' And I was like, 'It's the big one.' And she was like, 'Chris?' I was like, 'Yeah, it's Chris Nolan.'"
At the time, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” was scheduled to begin filming on the same day as “The Odyssey”, leaving Holland with a difficult decision.
"And then we had 'Spider-Man' that was literally scheduled to go the same day that we would start shooting," Holland said, before revealing Zendaya's playful response.
"Z said, 'I'll leave you if you don't do 'The Odyssey','" he said, drawing laughter from Damon, Hathaway and Nolan.
Also read: Zendaya gushes over Tom Holland’s dedication to ‘Spider-Man’
Responding with a smile, Nolan said, "Yes. Well, thank you to her," to which Holland replied, "Here I am."
To make the project possible, Holland had to ask Sony Pictures executive Tom Rothman to postpone production on “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”, allowing him to join Nolan's film.
Now, Holland and Zendaya are sharing the screen in “The Odyssey”, with Holland portraying Telemachus and Zendaya playing Athena, the Greek Goddess of wisdom. The couple also reunites in the upcoming “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”, where Zendaya reprises her role as Michelle "MJ" Jones.
Nolan praised Holland's commitment, saying he had admired the actor's work for years and was eager to collaborate with him.
"Tom was somebody I hadn't worked with before, but I've admired his work for years and really wanted to work with him. So we met, and I convinced him to do it," Nolan said.
He acknowledged the scheduling challenges, adding, "It wasn't easy jamming in between a lot of different things. He's a very busy young man, but this family came together... I'm just thrilled that these guys all agreed to come on board."
Describing the experience of making the film, Nolan said, "I like to say it was a hard shoot, but hard in the right way. They rose to it magnificently."
Holland also recently revealed that Nolan allowed him to be the one to tell Zendaya about the filmmaker's interest in casting her as Athena.
"I said, 'Just read [the script] again, but read Athena really closely.' And the little corners of her mouth... It was amazing," Holland recalled.
“The Odyssey” is set to release in theatres on July 17.
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