Tom Holland is having quite the year. After taking some much needed time off starting in 2022, the actor came back to the silver screen by making a huge splash. He was one of the stars of The Odyssey, which had a great box office opening and has maintained huge numbers throughout the summer. He also ran victory lap with Spider-Man: Brand New Day which had a historic run domestically, maintaining its number one spot week after week. On the heels of Holland's success, one of his directors, Joe Russo, is weighing in on why he's the last true movie star.
Joe Russo and his brother, Anthony, worked with Holland on a few Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, and the former Russo sibling recently discussed that collaboration. While speaking with CBR.com, Joe didn't hold back his admiration for the Spider-Man star and laid out several key elements that have arguably contributed to the British star endearing himself to audiences. Joe explained:
Tom Holland translates in a way that I don’t know if very few actors in history translate, you know? There is a charm and a genuineness to him that really resonates with audiences. And he’s so authentic as a person, and his performances are so authentic. He really embodies that character in a way that it’s just straight off the page of the comics.
I agree that the way Holland takes on a character is unique from a lot of his peers. While contemporaries like Jacob Elordi and Timothee Chalamet seem to be taking inspiration from actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale, there is something far more old school about Holland's approach. He has a jovial energy of old Hollywood, kind of like a Gene Kelly. He’s youthful without feeling childish, and his energy is electric. This “vintage” quality is something Russo picked up on as well, as he said:
I think [Brand New Day] is a testament to his star power. He is — we’ve said this before. He’s the last great movie star. There’s a vintage quality to Tom Holland that feels like it comes from a time that doesn’t exist now. And there’s lots of great movie stars out there, but [his] energy is different. He’s got that, like, that quality that very few people have had.
It’s hard to deny that there is something special about Tom Holland. It’s why filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, Paul King and of course, the Russo Brothers are jumping at the chance to work with. Holland never feels like he’s fighting for a performance. It flows naturally to him, and there's a charm he has that brings a very specific energy to the screen. Even though Joe alludes to other great performers of this generation, his claim that Holland is “the last great movie star” is quite bold.
Ultimately, I think what Joe Russo means is Holland may be the last great movie star by the old Hollywood standard of what a movie star is. The Cherry star, like a lot of early movie stars, is a studio darling. He is a fantastic tool to use in many different kinds of movies to play the boyish everyman. However, the modern-day definition of a movie star has changed. They can be an intense method actor like Daniel Day Lewis or even a powerhouse woman like Holland's own wife, Zendaya.
Holland may be his own unique kind of movie star in his own right, but there are a lot of up-in-comers bringing their own flair to modern moviemaking. We'll have to wait and see if the current popularity of Holland’s traditional charm will stand the test of time.
For now, fans can catch Tom Holland in two of the buzziest films on the 2026 movie calendar, The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. They are in select theaters now for a limited time, as both of these films are at the tail-end of their theatrical runs. You can also revisit his performance as Peter Parker in the previous Spider-Man and Avengers movies, which are now streaming with a Disney+ subscription.
