Over the years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has attracted both rising stars and Hollywood veterans to join its extensive slate of film and streaming projects. In the case of Spider-Man: Far From Home, the film brought together Marvel star Tom Holland and Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal.
Spider-Man: Far From Home would go on to rake in over $1 billion at the box office, the highest gross ever for any Spider-Man movie. And amidst the film’s success, fans also wondered how close Holland and Gyllenhaal have really become since working together.
Tom Holland Helped Jake Gyllenhaal Deal With His ‘Spider-Man’ Anxiety
When it came to casting for the second installment of Marvel’s Spider-Man movies, nobody initially expected for Gyllenhaal to come onboard as the villain Mysterio. But when that happened, Holland couldn’t be more thrilled. “If you look at any interview I've ever done prior to this movie and someone asked me, 'Who would you work with if you could work with any actor?' I would've said Jake Gyllenhaal,” Holland even told Entertainment Weekly.
True enough, the young actor had been following Gyllenhaal’s career and he’s become a huge fan of several Gyllenhaal films. “For me, Nightcrawler, Prisoners… I love Prince of Persia, though!” Holland revealed in another interview with Entertainment Weekly. “I told him how much I love that movie. Me and my mum both, actually.” For Holland, it was Gyllenhaal’s ability to fully transform into a character that he’s come to admire. “I just sort of picked his brains about all his roles because he is really like a chameleon every single one,” the actor explained. “There’s no real similarity between any of them other than the fact that he’s playing them, and he has so many interesting tips about how to immediately change your appearance, how to change your character.”
Meanwhile, once they were on set, Gyllenhaal and Holland got along tremendously well. In fact, maybe they got along a little too well. “Sometimes they would crack each other up, and we could not get through takes occasionally,” director Jon Watts revealed. “It was a problem!” All jokes aside though, Gyllenhaal had nothing but praise for his younger co-star. “He’s an incredible, physical actor and there are so many things that he could do that I could never do,” Gyllenhaal told GQ. “He’s also just so kind…”
Later on, Gyllenhaal also admitted that Holland had helped him deal with his anxiety while working on the film. While speaking with Howard Stern, the veteran actor revealed that he struggled to adjust to working within the MCU initially. “That world is enormous. And I joined that world way into that run; a train that was already moving,” Gyllenhaal explained. And because he would get to anxious at times, Gyllenhaal also found himself forgetting his lines. It was a good thing that Holland was more than happy to help. “And I went up to Tom Holland and was like, ‘Dude, help me out,’” Gyllenhaal recalled. “He’s like, ‘It’s all good, man. Just relax.’”
They Worked Together Again Soon After, Sort Of
While taking a break from Marvel, Holland went on to work several other film projects. On of which was the thriller drama The Devil All the Time. It was a role that the young actor had been attached to early on in his career. And oddly enough, Holland had no idea that his Spider-Man co-star was also involved in the film in some capacity.
“When Jake and I were working together on Spidey 2, he was asking me what I was going to do next,” Holland recalled in a separate Entertainment Weekly interview. “I pitched him this movie and he was like, 'Wait a minute, I’m producing that movie.' And I was like, Well, I’m in that movie.' I guess someone had like messed up in the email and didn't tell us that each of us were part of the film.” And while Gyllenhaal did serve as a producer on The Devil All the Time, it is unclear if the actor had gone to the set during its production.
They Are Yet To Reunite, But…
At the moment, it seems Holland and Gyllenhaal are yet to have a reunion. Nonetheless, the bromance continues. In fact, the two continue to post photos of each other on social media. Just last December, Holland even shared a short clip of him and Gyllenhaal in honor of his former co-star’s birthday. “I had to be the first,” he wrote in the caption. “Happy birthday mate miss you.”
And while they are yet to work on another film together (although fans are hoping that Gyllenhaal would appear somehow in Spider-Man: No Way Home), it seems Gyllenhaal and Holland continue to be good friends. In fact, Gyllenhaal once told The Hollywood Reporter, “I love being there for Tom if he needs me, and he knows that I am, not just in terms of career but in terms of life or anything.”