Tom Holland Is ‘Proud’ of His ‘Forward-Thinking’ ‘Lip Sync Battle’ Performance, But He’d ‘Never’ Do That Now
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Tom Holland is flying higher than weather. The actor — who’s dating Zendaya — is continuing to find success after portraying Spider-Man, and is now starring as Danny Sullivan on Apple TV+ series The Crowded Room. But despite having blockbuster projects under his belt, the star tells The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview that his viral performance of Rihanna‘s “Umbrella” on Lip Sync Battle in 2017 is “what I get the most compliments for.”
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“I’m proud of it,” the 27-year-old said in the story published Wednesday (June 14). “I like that it left a lasting impact. It was an amazing time.”
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The performance kicks off with the actor showing off his moves in a suit and tie — a la Gene Kelly — to “Dancing in the Rain.” He fancy foots his way behind some umbrellas, and as the drum loop for Ri’s 2007 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 begins, Holland struts out in a black bob wig, black halter outfit and fishnet stockings (reminiscent of the pop superstar’s costume in her music video), even grinding on Zendaya — who also appeared on the same episode — at one point. That in itself is enough to catch viewers’ attention, but no, the actor goes on to stun with racy choreography that would give season 16 Dancing With the Stars champ Zendaya a run for the mirrorball trophy. The video has been so popular that it has since racked up more than 30 million views.
While chatting about the sexy outfit he wore for Lip Sync Battle, Holland denied that it was a statement about toxic masculinity. “I’ve grown up in the most non-toxic-masculine environment possible,” he told THR. “I didn’t realize what I was doing was so forward-thinking. I was just like, ‘Yeah, f–k it. I’ll put some fishnets on and dance in the rain. That’ll be really fun. I don’t care.'”
As for whether he’d do something like Lip Sync Battle again? Holland rains on those hopes. “You’d never catch me doing that now,” he said. “Just because I don’t want to do a f–king TV show that I don’t need to do. I’d rather go and play golf and live my little private life.”
And on the topic of hitting the green, the actor shared that not only does he play regularly, he sometimes goes golfing with Zendaya, whom he met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017. (She co-starred as his love, MJ.) “I’ve given her a few lessons,” he offered. “She’s very naturally talented, a real athlete, so she picked it up really quickly.”
But he wouldn’t share much more about the Golden Globe winner. “Our relationship is something that we are incredibly protective of, and we want to keep as sacred as possible,” he told THR. “We don’t think that we owe it to anyone. It’s our thing, and it has nothing to do with our careers.”
Revisit the actor’s iconic performance of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” below.
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