Tom Holland has been discussing his iconic ‘Umbrella’ performance on Lip Sync Battle, saying that his dad didn’t want him to perform the song, revealing something shocking about his outfit, and explaining why the performance still haunts him.
Playing Spider-Man could have been the pinnacle of Tom Holland’s career thus far. Introduced in Captain America: Civil War during that movie’s most memorable scene, he brought an excitement and boyish charm to the character that made his Peter Parker irresistible.
A solo trilogy followed to both critical and commercial acclaim, while he’s now busy shooting fourth Spidey film Band New Day on the streets of Glasgow.
But in 2017, Holland eclipsed his work as the webslinger by miming to ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ on Lip Sync Battle, before ripping off his clothes and performing an unforgettable rendition of Rhianna’s ‘Umbrella’ in a pair of fishnets as rain showered down on him.
Tom Holland wore his gran’s tights during ‘Umbrella’
While speaking to chef Gordon Ramsey, Holland gave some background on the number, and revealed a surpising detail about what he was wearing.
Holland said: “It’s so funny, Zendaya and I, we were chatting at the time about what we were gonna do, and we had agreed that we would take it easy. That was the agreement, that it was like, ‘I’m not gonna do anything crazy, you’re not gonna do anything crazy, we’re just gonna keep it nice and easy breezy.’”
But then something crazy did develop, with Holland explaining: “When I was working with the creative team coming up with the ideas, they kind of pitched this ‘Umbrella’ thing, and as we were rehearsing, it got crazier and crazier. And then the rain machine came in. And then I was like, ‘F*ck it, I wanna wear fishnets and do this, and I want a wig and a quick-change.’”
When asked if those tights were his mom’s, Holland fired back with “They were my granny’s, actually.” And when asked where they are, he said that “They’re framed actually, at the MET.”
Why Lip Sync Battle performance haunts the Spider-Man star
Though he then revealed that his father was very much against the idea, due to potential overexposure: “When I told my dad, he was like, ‘Son, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t think you should do that.’
“At that time in my career, he was very worried about me becoming too famous too quickly. So he was really keen for me to not do extra TV shows that I didn’t have to do to try and maintain that part of my childhood.”
But Holland junior did the dance, and the rest is rain-soaked history, with Holland adding that “of all the pieces of work that I’ve done, that I’ve put my heart and soul into – blood, sweat and tears – the Lip Sync Battle is the thing that everyone brings up… it haunts me!”
Zelensky's trust rating drops to 58% after anti-corruption agencies scandal, poll shows