Los Angeles may be a big city, but by many accounts, Hollywood is a small town. It’s easy to forget that some celebrities know each other, especially if we don’t see them hanging out regularly. That’s why it can be fun when they pull out the throwback photos and remind us how big their social circles are – like Drew Barrymore just did when congratulating Tom Holland on a job well done in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Drew Barrymore has built an impressive movie career, but she’s also been known to step behind the camera as a producer and a director. She had her directorial hat on back in 2011 when she first met Tom Holland and, in a recent Instagram post, she shared photos of their time together before taking a walk down memory lane in the accompanying caption:
I remember meeting you what was it? 2011? And I was so captivated by you. And I had just watched your movie and we were meeting about a project I was going to direct and I truly thought you were the most impressive and incredible person as well as such an extraordinary talent!
It sounds like Drew Barrymore has a real eye for talent. It was so sweet of her to praise the Uncharted star and recognize his talent, even when he was at a young age. But she also took the time to praise him for his recent successes:
But! Watching you grow up! Fall in love with the greatest women @zendaya and become our hero! From Spider-Man to the greatest dancer in a billy Elliot and @lipsyncbattle And now you will play Fred Astaire hopefully ??? There is nothing you can’t and won’t do!
Tom Holland really has come a long way since 2011. He’s become one of the biggest stars in the world thanks to his portrayal of Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and these days, with Spider-Man: No Way Home breaking records seemingly every week, he’s more famous than ever. Still, it’s always fun to remember his pre-Spidey days – take a look at Drew Barrymore’s throwback post here:
The best part of Drew Barrymore’s message to the actor might not be her listing his great qualities or filmography highlights, but the fact that she even knows all about his dating life with Zendaya, and called back to his epic performance of “Umbrella” on Lip Sync Battle. By calling out everything from these fun moments in his career to his blockbuster roles and future projects, it’s clear that even though their collaboration didn’t work out, Barrymore has been keeping up with the young man's career.
It must have been surreal for her to watch Tom Holland grow from a relatively unknown actor in Hollywood to the sought-after star he is today, especially when you know what it feels like to grow up in the spotlight. The Charlie's Angels alum has been open about the downsides of being a child star herself and her struggles, so she might be especially glad to see that, like herself, he is thriving today.
And just because they weren’t able to work together in 2011 doesn’t mean they’ll never be able to. If Tom Holland isn’t too busy making a new Marvel movie, maybe Drew Barrymore can enlist him to appear in her next film when and if she decides to make one. Until then, we can hope that he’ll be able to make an appearance on Barrymore's titular talk show. After all, it sounds like they have a lot to catch up on.
