Tom Holland is getting candid about the challenges he faces when acting!
The Spider-Man star opened up about the combination of his dyslexia and ADHD can be really tricky for him to navigate at times, especially when it comes to his career! In an interview with IGN out on Monday promoting his new LEGO short film, Never Stop Playing, all about the importance of play, Tom shared:
“I think it really does help. I have ADHD and I’m dyslexic, and I find sometimes when someone gives me a blank canvas that it can be slightly intimidating. And sometimes you are met with those challenges when developing a character.”
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For him, playing and experimenting is a great way to overcome that hurdle:
“So any way that you can, as a young person or as an adult, interact with something that forces you to be creative and forces you to think outside the box and make changes that might be in an instruction manual or might not be in an instruction manual just promotes healthy creativity. And I think that the more we do that sort of stuff, the better.”
If you don’t know, play is actually used as therapy for ADHD, or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Child psychologist Dr. Carol Brady, explained it to ADDitude magazine:
“Children communicate metaphorically through play. As a therapeutic tool, it’s like giving a sugary pill instead of a bitter one.”
Playing can help kids build important life skills like improving attention, impulse control, self-esteem, emotional regulation, and so much more. Tom landed in a good career considering how creative he gets to be!
Back in 2023, Zendaya‘s husband-to-be opened up on the Jay Shetty podcast On Purpose about being diagnosed with dyslexia when he was 7. If you don’t know, it’s a learning difference that can cause challenges with reading and writing. He shared:
“My dyslexia, it’s really just my spelling. My spelling was really the biggest hurdle. I worked really hard at school. I didn’t do particularly well but my parents said, ‘As long as you try your best.’”
While it may make things more difficult at times, he’s never let it hold him back. Offering advice to fans, he said in an interview with Jazzy’s World TV in 2021:
“It’s about taking your time. Giving yourself the appropriate amount of time to do the things you need to do. The better prepared you are for anything the more you’ll be able to do and accomplish things that are fantastic.”
So true!
There are so many stars in the entertainment business that also have dyslexia, ADHD, and other learning differences, so Tom’s certainly not alone in this!
See his fun short film:
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[Image via Sony Pictures Entertainment/Buzzfeed Celeb/YouTube]
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