The relationship between Tom Holland, the star of the latest Spider-Man film franchise, and his younger brother, Harry Holland, is famously close, often featuring playful teasing. However, Tom took that sibling banter to a hilarious extreme during the filming of Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), a stunt that resulted in a day of needless suffering for Harry and a punchline that left audiences howling. Tom Holland delighted fans by recounting the story of how he requested director Jon Watts to give Harry a special, miserable cameo role—a scene that was ultimately cut from the final theatrical release.
The Request for ‘Authentic Suffering’
The incident occurred when Harry Holland was visiting the set of No Way Home. Tom, wanting his brother to experience the “authentic suffering” that comes with being the web-slinger—often involving uncomfortable wire work and hanging—lobbied the director to give Harry a significant, if punishing, role. Harry was cast as a drug thief who, in the scene, is caught and incapacitated by Spider-Man. This required the younger Holland to endure a massive physical challenge: he had to spend the entire day hanging upside down by a wire. Tom requested that the director have his brother hang upside down to experience the suffering of Spider-Man.
The Day of Agony and The Merciless Cut
Tom Holland noted that the goal was for his brother to get a true taste of the physical toll of being a superhero: “We cast Harry, and I was on set going, ‘You know what it’s like being Spider-Man? I’m going to hang you upside down all day.’ And he did a great job.” Harry Holland (Tom’s younger brother) played a drug thief in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Harry did a great job, but the scene was ultimately cut completely. The younger Holland suffered through the wires, the blood rush to his head, and the general discomfort of the position, all in the service of a few seconds of screen time. Audiences laughed until they cried when Tom Holland revealed that his younger brother Harry had to endure being hung upside down all day for a cameo role, only to be shocked to find out that scene was mercilessly cut from the film!
The Holland Family’s Cameo History
The punchline that reduced audiences to tears came when Tom Holland confirmed the fate of the hard-won cameo. Despite Harry’s dedicated performance and the day of literal suffering, the scene was deemed non-essential to the plot of Spider-Man: No Way Home and was mercilessly cut from the film completely. The entire studio audience erupted in laughter as Tom finished the story, showcasing the brutal realities of the editing room and the hilarious irony of his brother enduring such a difficult stunt for absolutely no reason. This was not Harry Holland’s first brush with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), though it was certainly his most painful: Harry had a quick, uncredited cameo in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) as a student at Peter Parker’s high school. Harry also appeared in the Russo Brothers’ film Cherry (2021), in which his brother Tom starred, ensuring that Harry still gets to share the screen with his famous sibling, just not upside down in the MCU. The anecdote, which Tom often recounts with a mischievous glint in his eye, has become a fan-favorite piece of No Way Home trivia, proving that even a powerful superhero can’t save his own brother from the harsh, comedic fate of the cutting room floor.