Tom Holland Admits Negative Reviews for ‘The Crowded Room’ Were ‘A Kick in the Teeth’
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Up until now, Tom Holland’s career has largely consisted of one high profile success after another. The actor went from starring in some of the most popular Spider-Man movies of all time to opening an “Uncharted” movie that many felt overperformed financially office due to Holland’s star power. So the harsh critical response to his new Apple TV+ series “The Crowded Room,” which sees Holland playing a man with dissociative identity disorder who gets arrested for attempted murder, is a new experience for him.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Holland got honest about the overwhelmingly negative response that the series has received.
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“It was a kick in the teeth,” Holland said. “Rolling over, looking up the reviews, and then all of a sudden I was like, ‘Wow. That’s a bad review.’ Sometimes there’s a redeeming quality in there. There was nothing.”
While Holland clearly understands the negative initial response to “The Crowded Room,” the actor expressed optimism that critics will eventually assess the series in a positive light.
“There will be good ones,” he said. “There will be. I try to have a healthy outlook on all that sort of stuff and respect everyone’s opinion.”
Much of the criticism of the show has little to do with Holland’s performance (though he is also an executive producer on the series). Critics have taken issue with the show’s repetitive nature and inability to deliver a dramatic storyline that lives up to its ambitious premise.
“What restricts and ultimately fells ‘The Crowded Room’ isn’t just one poor decision,” IndieWire’s Ben Travers wrote in his review. “Far too long and visually repetitive, the 10-episode limited series starring Tom Holland and Amanda Seyfried doesn’t have the dramatic heft needed to justify its length, nor is its narrative crafted carefully enough to build proper momentum. Holland’s lead performance is solid, though irreparably hampered by the story’s structure, and Seyfried’s is a tad sharper, though that could be because she’s able to do more with less. Its message — which I can’t even get into for reasons I’ll divulge shortly — is significant and stirring, which makes you wish how it’s conveyed was that much stronger.”
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