'I was seeing myself in him': Tom Holland reveals he suffered 'meltdown' after playing Billy Milligan in 'The Crowded Room'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Apple TV and Tom Holland are bringing ‘The Crowded Room’ to everyone’s screens, centered around the character Danny Sullivan. Sullivan will be played by Holland and is loosely based on the life and crimes of Billy Milligan. Milligan made history in the US back in the 70s by pleading insanity with dissociative indemnity disorder and was pronounced not guilty despite being charged with robbery, kidnapping, and rape. It’s safe to say that ‘The Crowded Room’ is intense, and a life-changing experience for Holland.
Holland is best known for playing Spider-Man aka Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but is now expanding his horizons. Holland’s shift from playing a happy teenage character who swings across New York to a rapist with an identity disorder has been drastic, and most definitely impacted his life in more ways than he could have imagined.
Holland’s mental health and sobriety
Holland is one of those lone celebrities who is often candid about his experiences, whether they are good, bad, or ugly. He is known for wearing his heart on his sleeves, and that’s reflected in his conversations about ‘The Crowded Room’ and everything that surrounds it. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Holland said, "I'm no stranger to the physical aspects of the job doing the whole action-movie thing, but the mental aspect, it really beat me up and it took a long time for me to recover afterward, to sort of get back to reality." Holland also describes playing the role of Danny Sullivan as “Unlike anything I've ever experienced before."
Holland is now 16 months sober, which has been an important part of his journey, and ‘The Crowded Room’ has added to it. With the help of ‘The Crowded Room’ Holland hopes to make people more aware of mental health issues, and “hope that people will feel educated about the powers of mental health, the struggles, and our incredible abilities to survive." ‘The Crowded Room’ truly put things into perspective for Holland, and influenced his sobriety post-pandemic, as his journey continues to flourish.
You can stream ‘The Crowded Room’ on Apple TV+ from June 9, 2023
