When Bob Iger calls, you answer, whether three pints in or wholly sober.
That's the big takeaway from Tom Holland's Wednesday night appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, which closed out with the actor being asked about the moment in blockbuster history in which "Sony was pulling Spider-Man out of the MCU and it was terrible." As Kimmel recalled, Iger credited Holland with having "smoothed that over," prompting an expanded take on the fateful call from the Spies in Disguise star.
Holland noted that he "wouldn't say it was entirely my doing," though he jokingly took credit with an "I saved Spider-Man" pull quote.
"We were at D23, which is the big Disney convention, and the news had come out and I was honestly devastated," he said. "I was upset . . . I asked if I could get Bob's email because I just wanted to say thank you."
Holland emailed Iger to tell the studio boss that he had changed his life "in the best way," ultimately landing a quick response. "He responded very quickly saying 'I'd love to jump on the phone with you at some point. When are you free?'" Holland said. "And you don't give Bob Iger a schedule. It's like, 'Whenever, Bob!'"
A few days later, the call came in at a potentially inopportune time. "My family and I went to the pub quiz in our local town, we're doing the quiz, and I'm like three pints in, right?" he said. "I haven't eaten much and I get a phone call from an unknown number and I have a feeling. I'm like 'I think this is Bob Iger but I'm drunk.' So, anyway, my dad's like 'Just take the call! You'll do fine!' so I answer the call."
Iger told a drunken Holland that "there is a world where we could make this work," which resulted in a series of phone calls also involving Sony's Tom Rothman. Holland, who "weeped" and was briefly convinced prior to all this that it was "all coming to an end," was surprised by this.
"It was really interesting for me to have these two studio heads like 'What do you think?' and I'm like 'I don't know. I'm an actor, dude.'"
See the full interview up top.
