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Tom Holland takes break from acting after The Crowded Room took a toll on his mental health

8 June 2023, 16:45

Zendaya and Tom Holland enjoy Usher concert

By Katie Louise Smith

"I’m now taking a year off, and that is a result of how difficult this show was."

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Tom Holland has revealed that he's taking a year off from acting to rest and recuperate due to the mental toll that his recent TV project had on him.

In case you haven't been keeping tabs on Tom's IMDb page, the actor is currently starring in Apple TV+'s The Crowded Room. The show follows Danny Sullivan (played by Tom) who was arrested for his involvement in a New York City shooting in 1979. Through various interviews with an investigator, Danny comes to better understand his own mental health, the people in his life, and the tragic events that led up to the incident.

Tom's been working on the show for the past year or so, and has recently opened up about how his character made him begin to view his mental health differently. As a result, Tom shared he has now been sober for well over a year.

Now, in a new interview with ExtraTV while promoting the show, Tom has opened up about how the show affected him mentally.

Tom Holland takes break from acting following the toll The Crowded Room had on his mental health. Picture: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images, Apple TV+

During the interview, Tom was asked: "How emotionally taxing was this one for you?" While the actor said that he enjoyed it, he did acknowledge that it was heavy, and that he needed time away after he was finished.

"It was a tough time for sure," Tom admitted. "We were exploring certain emotions that I have definitely never experienced before. And top of that being a producer, dealing with the day to day problems that come with any film set, added that extra level of pressure."

"I’m no stranger to hard work. I’ve always sort of lived by this idea that hard work is good work," Tom continued. "It did break me. There did come a time where I sort of was like, I need to have a break. I disappeared, I went to Mexico for a week and had some time on a beach and laid low. And I’m now taking a year off, and that is a result of how difficult this show was. I am excited to see how it turns out. I feel like our hard work wasn’t in vain."

"The show did break me." Tom Holland (@TomHolland1996) reveals he's taking a year off acting after his difficult role in #TheCrowdedRoom. Full interview: https://t.co/e7AZ0HChZT pic.twitter.com/r3d76djSUJ
— ExtraTV (@extratv) June 8, 2023

As for what his year off will entail? Tom shared that he's just trying to be "a regular bloke from Kingston and trying to relax".

"I've done a little bit of travelling, I had an amazing time," Tom shared. "I've been seeing my family, I've been seeing my friends, I've been playing golf. I've been going to garden centre and buying plants and doing my best to keep them alive."

Good for Tom! Here's hoping he takes all the time he needs and returns, when he's ready, better than ever.