The stigma around sobriety has shifted significantly in recent years, and we can partially thank the public figures who use their platforms to discuss their own relationships with substances. Stars like Blake Lively, John Mulaney, and Cara Delevingne have all shed light on their own personal sobriety journeys—and now Tom Holland is sharing his own story.
The Spider-Man star first disclosed that he had quit drinking in an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in May. Holland said it was one of the many steps he took to improve his mental health after filming the Apple TV+ series The Crowded Room.
But in a recent episode of the podcast On Purpose with Jay Shetty, the actor got candid about his journey and shared how much it has impacted his life.
Holland’s sobriety story started after the 2021 holiday season. While he didn’t intend to quit drinking entirely, he decided to participate in Dry January.
“I just, like many Brits, had had a very, very boozy December,” Holland said. “[It was] Christmas time, I was on vacation, I was drinking a lot, and I’ve always been able to drink a lot.”
But the 31-day challenge ended up being more difficult than the actor expected. “All I could think about was having a drink,” he shared. “I was waking up thinking about it. I was checking the clock, [asking] ‘when’s it 12 p.m.?’ It just really scared me.”
That month was when Holland began to recognize that he may have an alcohol problem. So he decided to extend his booze break through February. “Two months go by and I was still really struggling. I felt like I couldn’t be social,” he said.
The actor then decided to set a personal goal to wait until his birthday in June before drinking again. And by the time he reached that six-month milestone, Holland finally felt like he had turned a corner.
“By the time I got to June 1, I was the happiest I've ever been in my life,” he said. “I could sleep better. I could handle problems better…I had such better mental clarity.”
It pushed Holland to reexamine his relationship with alcohol entirely. “I just sort of said to myself, like, 'Why? Why am I enslaved to this drink? Why am I so obsessed by the idea of having this drink?’”
And now, over a year and a half since participating in Dry January, Holland is still embracing sobriety. He even inspired his mother to stop drinking herself.
Quitting alcohol is one of many steps Holland has taken to improve his mental health, along with going on an acting hiatus after his work on The Crowded Room. He publicly shared that the support from his girlfriend and Spider-Man co-star Zendaya has been invaluable.
“I’m lucky that I have someone like Zendaya in my life,” he said on the podcast Smartless. “It’s interesting being in a romantic relationship with someone that is in the same boat as you.”
“You can share your experiences and all that sort of stuff—and that’s worth its weight in gold,” Holland continued.
