Tom Holland says he had a ‘meltdown’ after latest role ‘really beat him up’

Tom Holland has opened up about the mental toll filming his upcoming series The Crowded Room took on him.

The 10-part Apple TV+ is set in the late 1970s and centres on shy teen Danny Sullivan (played by Holland) who is arrested after a shooting at the Rockefeller Center.

During numerous talks with investigator Rya Goodwin (played by Amanda Seyfried) Danny begins to learn more about his mental health and the events that led up to the shooting.

The series is inspired by a true story and the book The Minds of Billy Milligan - although it is a fictionalised account.

During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Holland has revealed that filming the show took its toll on him.

"I'm no stranger to the physical aspects of the job doing the whole action-movie thing," he said.

"But the mental aspect, it really beat me up and it took a long time for me to recover afterwards, to sort of get back to reality."

Recalling one specific night, following nine months of filming, he said: “I was seeing myself in him, but in my personal life.

Apple TV+

"I remember having a bit of a meltdown at home and thinking, like, 'I'm going to shave my head. I need to shave my head because I need to get rid of this character.' And, obviously, we were mid-shooting, so I decided not to… It was unlike anything I've ever experienced before."

Showrunner Akiva Goldsman said that Holland was the only star he had in mind for the role of Danny and heaped praise on the actor’s commitment.

He told Entertainment Weekly: "He took this character to heart. It was an unbelievably challenging piece.

"We shot 130 days in a row. In New York. During Covid.

Apple TV+

"And Tom held the centre of it in a way that makes the piece work because he's so compassionate and compelling and his conviction in the role is extraordinary. I'm excited for him, because I don't think people have seen him this way."

Summing up the new series, Holland said: "It's a show that will take you on twists and turns - you'll never know where you are or what's going on - and then it will all come to a miraculous conclusion toward the end.

"It's a story about heartbreak. It's a story about love. It's a story about betrayal. And, most of all, it's a story about a young kid's determination to survive."

The Crowded Room lands on Apple TV+ on 9 June.