In an interview that’s sure to have his publicist pulling out his or her hair once more, Tom Holland has described his performance as Nathan Drake in the Uncharted movie as a “mistake” and “something that I will probably never do again”. To be clear, he’s not talking about the role itself, just his performance in it.
As part of an interview with GQ, the publication explained that Holland had to bulk up for the job, and had to do a lot of “looking cool”. It sounds like the Spider-Man actor feels like he spent a little too much time inside his own head, and he’s not satisfied with his performance as a result.
“As soon as you start worrying about 'Do I look good in this shot?' acting becomes something other than playing a character,” he explained. “I think there are elements of my performance in Uncharted where I kind of fell under that spell of being ‘I want to look good now. I want this to be my cool moment.’ I had to play this very tough, very stoic guy – basically be Mark Wahlberg. My character is supposed to be a fucking action hero in this moment!”
Holland continued that he hasn’t seen the movie yet, so doesn’t know if he’s been successful or not. “It was an important lesson learned, because, at times, it was less about land a mark and go through this scene and more about land a mark, stand like this and see my bulging biceps. It was a mistake and is something that I will probably never do again.”
So, the British star is not necessarily saying that the movie is bad and that he disliked the role, just that he’s not particularly pleased with how he approached it. While the context makes sense, we doubt Holland’s paymasters in Hollywood will be all too pleased to read it – especially now it’s spreading around the web. Nevertheless, the show must go on – the Uncharted movie launches in 2022.
[source gq-magazine.co.uk, via eurogamer.net]
Comments 61
Please don't make it so easy for me to make the predictable snarky comment, Mr. Holland.
All signs point to this being a disaster - as a fan of the games I really want to be wrong, though.
What a dumb and overblown headline/news.
"To be clear, he’s not talking about the role itself, just his performance in it."
Well yeah... I always thought Tom was an odd choice. Drake is effortlessly cool, and that just doesn't match up with Mr. Holland. I knew it would be an odd fit the second it was announced.
I think he’s just humblebragging about his muscles tbh.
@Fandabidozi He does look pretty ripped at the moment.
I do like him because he always ends up coming out with this sort of stuff. He definitely isn’t afraid to speak his mind.
@get2sammyb
If I looked like that I’d just stare at my reflection all day.
"I had to play this very tough, very stoic guy – basically be Mark Wahlberg."
Are we still talking about Nathan Drake?
@Ralizah I just came down to the comments to say the exact same thing.
He can only follow the direction he's given, but it sounds as if those creating the movie have never even encountered the games or the character.
I always suspected he was miscast but hoped the director, writers and producers 'got' the character and would make it work. This interview leads me to believe they haven't got a clue.
The proof will be in the pudding as they say and we'll have to wait and find out.
I don't get the hype about Holland anyway, he's alright as Spider-Man (or is that Iron Boy? 🤔) but nothing special.
I have so much respect for this. I love the Uncharted series, and I was quite surprised that he got the role at Nathan Drake. I like Tom Holland, but to me it wasn't an obvious fit. I really appreciate his honesty about this, and I hate how obvious it is, that this has to be made about som 'probable Hollywood drama, because everyone always has to pretend that they loved their work on the greatest project ever made. This is way more authentic. We need authenticity.
@Ralizah I thought the same.
Well, at least his honest.
The subheader is a lil' clickbaity but basically saying "I'm not sure if I'm good in this" is a weird way to promote your upcoming movie anyway...
This movie is going to suck isn't it?
This is disappointing to hear because films based on games are usually character-driven, with Oscar-worthy performances all round
Hopefully I forget this article by the time is comes out - didn't realize it was 2022, thought for sure it was 2021 - I mean come on Spiderman 3 is scheduled for Dec 2021 and he's only filming that now, and this is done, so what's the hold-up? - but if I forget this article I can go in w/ an open mind, otherwise I'll be watching it like he's acting it, and then it will be a total train wreck.
OK, did a google, it was 2021, twice, then they just recently moved it to Feb 2022. I suppose they have their reasons. I suppose their main reason being if we release this in Feb everybody will forget about it long before the Oscars so we wont' look like fools trying to win it any awards. 😂
"Uncharted is scheduled to be theatrically released on February 11, 2022 in IMAX 3D, RealD 3D, and Dolby Cinema[78] by Sony Pictures Releasing.[79][80] The film was originally set for release on June 10, 2016, but was delayed to June 30, 2017.[22][27] The film was later delayed to December 18, 2020, and then to March 5, 2021, after Travis Knight's departure.[45][81] It was further delayed to October 8, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[82] The film was then moved up to July 16, 2021, before moving to its February 11, 2022 date.[80]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncharted_(film)
His version of Nate is like some inexperienced gamer playing on brutal mode.
when i was a kid it was street fighter 2 and mortal Kombat was the big games then movies was made of them . 🙄 we all know how they turned out. video game translation to movie or tv show format looses some of the stuff that made the game great. although i am rooting for mr cavill to make a very good mass effect movie! netflix has got the evil dead done right i just finished season 3 ( and i thought it ended at season 2 ) as an original evil dead fan its class.
I like the kid, he speaks what's on his mind.
Not the best way to sell a movie............
I still think this would have been better if they'd gone with the voice actors from the game playing their respective roles. Voices and mannerisms would be spot-on, and with a bit of makeup, they could look the part too.
Of course, Hollyweird being what it is, they were always bound to insist on A-listers, and change beloved characters for "artistic reasons".
I've said this in previous comments, but as a fan of the games, I'd have preferred them to stay more true to the source and make a rollicking good B-movie with the game's "unknown" cast (not being cruel, just speaking in relative terms) and fun approach, rather than go for the big names and what seems to be a more gritty and serious setup.
I'm not saying it won't be an enjoyable movie, but I have a feeling it's going to be quite a wrench for fans of the games.
I always thought of Nathan Drake as accidentally cool as opposed to effortlessly cool. He's a total geek and a goofball and that's why he's loveable. He's more akin to Nicolas Cage in National Treasure than Marky Mark in anything else.
Definitely got more hope for upcoming Resident Evil reboot and Last of Us series than this.
They should've cast him as Kratos in the upcoming GOW film. SMH.
I respect any actor who can legitimately say that they weren't feeling it and owning up to it. Mad props. I hope it doesn't tarnish his image in Hollywood because it shows he can learn and grow from mistakes.
Andrew Garfield should have been the choice for young Drake. The prob is he isn't a teenager that guarantees youth to make 5 of these in a franchise.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t think video game movies are needed nowadays. Uncharted 4 was basically a movie that you got to control. It pretty much looks as good as a CGI movie too.
Nathan Drake isn't suppose to be a "cool" guy. He's not supposed to be a Mark Wahlberg. He's akin more to Peter Parker than a stoic personality. Nathan is funny, he makes mistakes. He laughs at himself and the ***** situations he find himself in. And he falls into A LOT of cliffs, stumbling through as he tries to recover.
If Nathan comes off as this uber stoic badass - then I think they failed to portray Nathan correctly. And that's not on Tom Holland - more on the direction he's asked to play.
Not looking good, IMO.
Such click bait, starting to really dislike this website, all it does is fuel controversy
“very stoic guy – basically be Mark Wahlberg”
Mark Wahlberg is nearly the opposite of stoic in every role he does.
Wow. Talk about a bad headline. That makes it sound like he felt him doing the movie was a mistake. Solid, guys.
@Col_McCafferty such an 'iron boy'... who or what even is a spiderman, anymore?
@Octane I was hoping we'd get elliot page for keratos? He's got mad beard props!
Of coarse Tom Holland thinks that, probably because he knows he was a terrible choice to play Nathan Drake. Same can be said for TLOU casting, its just bad. I would much rather them use unknown actors instead of trending actors.
@get2sammyb You have an uncensored F word in the arltice, which kinda goes against the rules.(end of third paragraph)
Maybe I don't know what clickbait means but the headline summarizes almost exactly what someone has said in regards to their part in a videogame-themed film. And the article elaborates.
Really not seeing the issue.
Hearing such a big Hollywood name speak frankly is always refreshing, so props to him for that!
And regarding clickbait, I dunno, I usually give a lot of flak to NL and PS when they do but I think this article is about as direct as it could be, so I don't understand.
Yeah, Drake isn't quite like that. He's not this super cool aura guy. He someone that feels approachable. It sounds like Holland was a bad choice and doesn't understand how to play the character. Of course he won't say he shouldn't have gotten the role completely, but he's pretty much admitted they messed up by hiring him and that he couldn't do it. They should have just done this back when Nolan North would have been cast for the role.
It's not that shocking tbh. I think anyone who played the Uncharted series will never say the name Tom Holland, if they were ask who should be cast as Nathan Drake for a live action film.
Oh dear... I did have high hopes for it, but, alas, it may end up like all the other filament based on games Hollywood churns out. Crap.
Drake isn’t cool, he’s playful, and stuffed full of ancient knowledge and history. The character has never been portrayed as cool, did Tom do any research for the role first? Did the show runners and director and writers? Probably not enough. They most likely thought it ‘cool’ to make a film and make some money from the games series.
I should add I cannot wait to see how they portray Ellie and Joel in the upcoming The Last Of Us series... 🙄
@zupertramp it makes it seem as if Tom Holland saying the movie was a mistake when he’s just saying that trying to act cool rather than delivering the scene was a mistake. This leads people to then talk about whether the film will flop or not because the lead actor “thinks” the movie was a mistake. People that skim through won’t look past the click bait.
Even in the article it says Tom Holland thinks his whole performance was a mistake when that’s not what he said.
If the direction thru gave him for Nathan Drake was "look cool" then they didn't get the spirit of uncharted. Nathan Drake is supposed to be a loveable dork shooting one liners just as fast as he shoots his guns, that just happens to also do heroic things.
@theMEGAniggle Fair enough.
I guess this is up for reader interpretation then because I take it as him literally saying he botched his performance by focusing on the wrong things.
Also seems like there's some tacit, subtextual acknowledgement that he was miscast in his comments but that could definitively just be me reading in.
His description of Drake sounds really wrong. But Drake is North. North is Drake. The idea of separating the two seems like oil and water.
@Mad001 hey, street fighter movie gave the world I've lost Raul Julia performance. That makes it all worthwhile.
Worrying about the perception of others during your performance can really ruin the moment and I suppose for actors, take away the suspension of disbelief. I play music and it is different, but I know full well when I am not in the present moment, I am not nailing that guitar solo. I suppose in acting part of it is how you 'look', this is a shame! When you are cast as a role it is for how you look also, so it's best to deliver your performance in your best ability and have belief that your image is the right one, especially with the addition of make up artists. Easier said than done, though. I'm sure he'll learn from this, anyway.
Chris Pratt would’ve been a good choice!
I appreciate his honesty, but I think he's being too hard on himself. Most actors would play it the way he did and not give it a second thought.
If he's gone the root of Nathan drake action hero its gonna be a disaster,not the impression I've ever got from the character after playing the games ,he's more Indiana than iron man ,a lot of his success boils down to luck and being in the right place at the right time,he gets beat up quite a lot.
@AlesXXVI a much better choice i agree
@ATaco exactly,drake bumbles his way through adventures most of the time ,fortune and glory by way of falling down a cliff and just happens to land on the treasure hes been looking for.
I can't see this being anything other than a disaster.
Films based on video games are, nearly always, terrible. This always felt like miscasting - designed to add in a popular actor rather than bringing in a solid actor who fit the role.
The two together doesn't bode well.
@Ralizah Now I'm honestly worried about the movie. Not that I was excited for it in the first place, but like, Nathan Drake was always presented as this cheeky and snarky dude with an adventurous attitude. To give Tom some credit, at least he's not afraid to tell the truth.
@DarthKirby I feel like maybe you have to know how cool you are/look when playing certain characters. You want to come across “cool” when playing characters like Spider-Man or Captain America because they are cool and Nathan Drake certainly falls into that category. But maybe he focused on it way too much.
Ryan Reynolds would have been a better choice
I love when actors give a reason to avoid their own movies.
What a dumb casting choice. Little boy Drake. Sheesh!
Are we seriously pretending Mark Wahlberg is cool?
What did they expect? Casting someone so young.
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