For many young actors, landing even the smallest role in a Marvel movie feels like a dream come true. For Harry Holland, that dream seemed to arrive when he was cast in a small part for the blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home. What he didn’t expect, however, was that the role would require one of the most uncomfortable and exhausting days of his life—only for the entire scene to disappear from the final cut.
Harry, the younger brother of Tom Holland, was given the role of a petty criminal who gets caught by Spider-Man during a chaotic moment in the story. The gag was simple but visually striking: his character would be captured in Spider-Man’s webbing and left hanging upside down as a humorous visual in the background.
On paper, it sounded like a fun cameo.
In reality, it became a 14-hour endurance test.
Harry later explained that the production team strapped him securely into a stunt harness and hoisted him into position—completely upside down. Because of the complexity of the scene and the time needed to set up lighting, camera angles, and other actors, he remained suspended like that for hours while the crew filmed take after take.
Within minutes, the physical strain began to build. Blood rushed to his head, creating intense pressure and dizziness. Hanging upside down for short bursts is manageable, but maintaining that position for extended periods can quickly become exhausting. Harry recalled feeling nauseous and lightheaded as the day dragged on.
Adding to the absurdity of the situation was the presence of his older brother on set.
Tom Holland, already the global face of Spider-Man and one of the film’s producers, was watching the entire ordeal unfold. Instead of offering sympathy, Harry joked that Tom seemed to find the situation endlessly entertaining. Sitting comfortably in a producer’s chair with a coffee in hand, Tom reportedly laughed loudly at the sight of his younger brother dangling helplessly in midair.
For Harry, it became a strange mixture of pain and sibling humiliation.
Despite the discomfort, he pushed through the entire shoot, delivering his lines and staying in character while the crew captured every possible angle. When the filming day finally wrapped, he felt a sense of accomplishment. Even if the role was small, he had endured a demanding stunt and contributed to one of the biggest films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Months later, however, came the disappointing twist.
After the movie’s release schedule tightened and editors worked to refine the pacing, the production team made a difficult decision. Several small scenes and comedic moments were trimmed to keep the film moving quickly. Harry’s upside-down cameo—along with the 14-hour stunt that made it possible—was removed entirely from the final version of the movie.
The news came through a phone call informing him that the sequence had been left on the cutting room floor.
While the decision was frustrating, Harry ultimately took it in stride. Filmmaking often involves difficult editorial choices, and even major scenes can disappear if they don’t serve the story’s rhythm. Still, the experience left him with a memorable story about the unpredictable realities of Hollywood.
In the end, Harry Holland may not have appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but he certainly earned one of the film’s most bizarre behind-the-scenes stories—fourteen hours upside down, a laughing brother in a Spider-Man suit nearby, and a cameo that only exists in Marvel’s vault of deleted scenes.