There is a lot for Tom Holland to consider when doing his own stunts in a Spider-Man film. For instance, there are the massive heights, the serious gymnastics skills needed and the potential of a broken bone that would delay a tight shooting schedule for an entire crew. Yet it seems like Holland and his co-stars had a unique fear when he was wearing the Spidey suit, and it had to do with the very real possibility of him getting sick in it, and the danger it may pose if he did.
During an interview on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast, the host showed Holland an interview clip from the host in which Zendaya expressed her nervousness over him vomiting in his movie costume. Considering the amount of upside-down stunt work required from the Marvel star, potentially getting sick wasn’t out of the question. And if he did get sick, would he suffocate due to how constricting that suit was? When Holland was shown that video of his now-wife as well as co-star Jacob Batalon talking about it, he agreed with her:
It was a real fear.
It makes sense that both of the movie stars thought about this, especially considering that if this did happen, Holland couldn’t simply pull the mask off. The suit was one piece for the most part, so the head wouldn’t just easily come off. It was very constricting and may pose a real danger if the actor did throw up during a stunt sequence. Even with hundreds of crew members watching Holland with a careful eye, such a concern doesn’t feel completely unfounded.
While Holland admitted to thinking about this, he also revealed that about a potential solution. However, this particular method wouldn't have been so smooth. The Odyssey star explained: If such a thing happened, engineering with the newer suits made things a lot safer. Also considering he’d ripped the Spidey suit easily before, he knew he’d be okay. He explained:
It was definitely something that crossed my mind. I think that in reality I knew that if that did happen, I could pull the eyes out, grab the eye tray and I could just rip the — there's a rip cord. There's an emergency. It's not designed that way, but I'm pretty sure I could have done that. But, now, in the new suit, having worked with Tobey and Andrew and seeing the amount of engineering that went into their comfortability, I have a zip at the back of my head, which allows me to take the mask off to breathe.
As cool as the Spider-Man suits have looked on camera over the years, not all of them have always been constructed in ways that are convenient for the actor inside. Tom Holland has even easily ripped his Spidey-suit before. However, by the time he was working on Brand New Day, the possibility of Holland throwing up in his outfit wasn't as much of a concern:
But, now, in the new suit, having worked with Tobey [Maguire] and Andrew [Garfield] and seeing the amount of engineering that went into their comfortability, I have a zip at the back of my head, which allows me to take the mask off to breathe.
Thankfully, despite that key update, such a situation didn't happen, and the Spidey suit remained intact and vomit-free while stunt sequences were done. This is actually pretty impressive, considering how often Holland has done his own stunts while playing Spider-Man for 10 years.
While his co-stars expressed fear that he was getting too old to be doing his own stunts, the actor continued to participate in stunts for Brand New Day, and if Tom Cruise has anything to say about it, an actor truly never too old to do your own stunts. Holland is only 30, and I still think he could still pull off some sick (no pun intended) stunts in another Spidey flick.
You can see Tom Holland doing most of his own stunts clean and sickness-free in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is currently available to purchase on digital platforms. It’s one of the buzziest films on the 2026 movie schedule, so make sure to check it out. Fans of the franchise can also check out previous Spidey films now with a Disney+ subscription.
