Tom Holland weighs in on Zendaya's Euphoria character and reveals how she inspired him to speak up on sets when 'scenes aren't working'

Tom Holland has weighed in on 'wife' Zendaya's Euphoria character and revealed how she inspired him to speak up on sets when the 'scenes aren't working'.

The Spider-Man actor, 30, joined Amy Poehler on her Good Hang podcast this week to discuss his life and career, when talk soon turned to his actress partner, 29, and how she's influenced him at work.

This week, Zendaya's show Euphoria came to an end after seven years and three seasons, with an action-packed finale seeing her character Rue Bennett die from a drug overdose.

Rue was poisoned with fentanyl-laced pills by her drug dealer boss who discovered that she was working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to take him down.

As Amy, 54, quizzed Tom on what he'd learned from his partner, he touched on her role in the HBO show, remarking how her deeply troubled alter-ego was a far cry from who Zendaya was in real life.

He said of Zendaya, whom he's believed to have recently married: 'What I love about watching her work as an actress is she's just fearless. She's just like absolutely ten toes down, like I'm going to give this everything. 

'I think when you watch her as Rue in that show,  she could not be more different to who she is in real life.'

He then referred to her role in 2026 film The Drama with Robert Pattinson, adding: 'And then if you see her as Emma in the drama, it's just a different performance but with no less intent or passion or drive.

'I think she's the best actor going! I really think she has something special.'

Tom then went on to speak about a moment during the filming of the latest Spider-Man movie, in which he recalled how due to him being in a relationship with Zendaya, he had the gumption to speak up and point out when a particular scene didn't feel quite right. 

He said: 'We had an amazing moment on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and it's only because of our relationship that this happened, where we were shooting this scene. 

'We'd shot my coverage, we then turned around on Zendaya, we're doing her coverage... and I'd never ever dream of saying this to an actress that I wasn't with, and I said to her: "Do you think this scene is working?" and she was like "no, I don't think this scene is working at all".

'So then I went to the producers and asked: "Do you think this scene is working?" and they said "No" and I was like " Me and Z are not really feeling it". And then I went and sat down with Destin [the director] and said "Hey man, I know we've been shooting for hours and I hate to tell you this but I don't think that this scene is working. Z and I, what we're supposed to feel, we're not feeling it in that moment." 

Tom recalled how he expressed his feelings to the film's director Destin Daniel Cretton, remarking how the filmmaker was 'so calm' and asked Tom how he wanted the scene to feel.

Tom, who has played the superhero for over a decade, explained how Destin then sent the crew home and said they were going to sit down and rewrite the scene with the film's writer. 

Tom continued: 'We came in the next day, we re-shot the scene, and I'm so glad that we did because it sings in the movie, it really does.'

The film star noted that it was only because he felt so comfortable with Zendaya being his partner that he had the confidence to speak up to get the scene altered. 

He quipped: 'It's just so funny as I was thinking that if this wasn't Zendaya that I was sitting across from, imagine on someone else's coverage and being like "you think this is working?" 

Tom and Zendaya have been longtime co-stars in the Marvel franchise, having first met while filming Spider-Man: Homecoming in mid 2016. They also star in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, though they do not share any scenes.  

Speaking about understanding what the other is going through due to being in the same industry, Tom explained to Amy: 'It's a wild world being in this industry. There are ups and downs. You go from shooting a movie, which is when we're all at our most comfortable, and then you do a press tour, which feels like you're kind of standing out on a stage. 

'It's so nice to have someone that understands that in such a personal way, so that you can talk each other down or you can big each other up... it's a lifeline. It really is and I couldn't imagine doing what I do without her.'