page_title: Tom Holland (actor)
section_title: 2006–2014: Billy Elliot the Musical and film breakthrough
hierarchical_section_title: Tom Holland (actor) / Career / 2006–2014: Billy Elliot the Musical and film breakthrough
caption_attribution_description: Musical theatre performers (L–R) Fox Jackson-Keen, Tom Holland and Brad Wilson performing the 5th Birthday Show of Billy Elliot the Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London.
context_page_description: Thomas Stanley Holland is an English actor. A graduate of the BRIT School in London, he began his acting career on stage in the title role of Billy Elliot the Musical in London's West End from 2008 to 2010. He gained further recognition for his starring role in the disaster film The Impossible, receiving the London Film Critics Circle Award for Young British Performer of the Year.
  Holland rose to stardom for playing Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
  In 2017, Holland received the BAFTA Rising Star Award.
context_section_description: Holland began dancing at a hip hop class at Nifty Feet Dance School in Wimbledon. His potential was spotted by choreographer Lynne Page (who was an associate to Peter Darling, choreographer of Billy Elliot and Billy Elliot the Musical) when he performed with his dance school as part of the 2006 Richmond Dance Festival.
  After eight auditions and two subsequent years of training, on 28 June 2008, Holland made his West End debut in Billy Elliot the Musical as Michael, Billy's best friend. He gave his first performance in the title role on 8 September 2008, receiving positive notices.
  In September 2008, Holland (together with co-star Tanner Pflueger) appeared on the news programme on channel FIVE and gave his first TV interview. The following year, he was featured on ITV1 show The Feel Good Factor. At the premiere on 31 January, Holland and two actors also playing the title role, Pflueger and Layton Williams, performed a version of "Angry Dance" from Billy Elliot the Musical, after which Holland was interviewed by host Myleene Klass. He trained five British schoolboys for a dance routine he fronted for the final The Feel Good Factor show on 28 March 2009.
  On 8 March 2010, to mark the fifth anniversary of Billy Elliot the Musical, four current Billy Elliots, including Holland, were invited to 10 Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Holland was chosen to be a lead at the fifth-anniversary show on 31 March 2010. Holland appeared on a regular basis as Billy in Billy Elliot the Musical, rotating with three other performers, until 29 May 2010, when he finished his run.
  In 2011, Holland was cast in the British dub of the animated fantasy film Arrietty, produced by Japan's Studio Ghibli. He provided a voice for the principal character Sho. Holland made his feature film debut in The Impossible (2012), directed by J.A. Bayona, alongside Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor. Holland was praised so highly for his performance, that there were even rumours he was a contender for an Academy Award, however he was not nominated. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2012 and was a critical and commercial success, earning $180.3 million worldwide and Holland received universal praise from critics and won several awards such as the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance and London Film Critics Circle Award for Young British Performer of the Year.
  He starred as Isaac in the drama film How I Live Now, which was released in the UK on 4 October 2013, co-starring Saoirse Ronan. Holland also appeared alongside Tom Hardy in a supporting role for the drama film Locke (2013), and made a brief appearance in Billy Elliot the Musical Live (2014) to celebrate his role as a 'former Billy'.
caption: Holland (centre) performing at the fifth anniversary of Billy Elliot the Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London on 31 March 2010
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