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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent

From Billy Elliot to Spider-Man: how Tom Holland won the world’s heart

Tom Holland
Tom Holland, whose boyhood obsession with Spider-Man was soon to pay dividends. Photograph: James Atoa/UPI/Rex/Shutterstock

Tom Holland was obsessed with Spider-Man as a boy. Growing up in Kingston upon Thames, he came to own more than 30 Spider-Man costumes and cherished his Spider-Man bedsheets.

And, unlike for most, his childhood obsession paid dividends later in life: he would eventually get to play his hero, landing the role that has made him the most famous young British actor in the world.

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