Jake Gyllenhaal reveals how Tom Holland helped him overcome his anxiety while filming Spider-Man: Far From Home

11 October 2021, 14:41

Watch the epic Spider-Man Far From Home trailer (warning contains Endgame spoilers)

Jazmin Duribe

By Jazmin Duribe

"It's hard, man. That acting is hard. All of it."

Jake Gyllenhaal has opened up about having anxiety while filming Spider-Man: Far From Home and revealed how Tom Holland helped him through it.

The Hollywood heartthrob played Mysterio in the 2019 Marvel movie alongside Tom (Peter Parker) and Zendaya (MJ). Mysterio is a former Stark Industries employee who is recruited to help Spider-Man stop the Elementals.

In an interview with Howard Stern, Jake revealed that while he was filming his first scene with Tom Holland and Samuel L. Jackson (who plays Nick Fury) he started to become overcome with anxiety.

READ MORE: 22 iconic Tom Holland moments that live in my mind rent free

Jake Gyllenhaal reveals how Tom Holland helped him overcome his anxiety
Jake Gyllenhaal reveals how Tom Holland helped him overcome his anxiety. Picture: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic, Mike Marsland/WireImage

"I was freaking out. It was a scene with [Samuel L] Jackson, Tom [Holland] …there were a number of actors in that scene. And I remember not being able to remember my lines. I was the wooden board. And they were like, 'Whoa,'" Jake explained.

Thankfully, Tom was on hand to calm Jake down. He added: "I went up to Tom and was like, 'Dude, help me out.' He’s like, ‘It’s all good, man. Just relax.' It was like he was me in so many situations. And I finally did. I just put a lot of pressure on [myself] because I love that world."

He continued: "I had to walk up and be like, ‘Look man, I just came off Broadway doing a one-man show for an hour and a half onstage, so I got this. Please, believe me’."

Jake played Mysterio
Jake played Mysterio. Picture: Alamy

Jake also said that he struggled working on the movie because MCU films are "a whole different craft" as scenes would often deviate from the script if someone came up with a better idea.

"It's hard, man. That acting is hard. All of it. That world is enormous. And I joined that world way into that run; a train that was already moving," Jake went on.

"Normally, I come in way early on and I get to figure it out."