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Tom, you may recall that Amy Poehler, in her podcast with you, used a phrase when she was introducing you – that he’s “the sort of man that will save us from toxic masculinity”.
I was thinking that of all the people that you’ve been saving us from as Spider-Man , if you remove toxic masculinity from the narrative, you can’t write those characters.
So maybe that is actually the bigger thing to save us from?
Tom: Maybe.
And so, Zendaya and Jacob, I want to ask the two of you: Spider-Man, the way it’s written, Peter Parker, the way he lives, and Tom Holland , the way he lives – are all of them collectively helping save the planet from toxic masculinity?
Tom: That’s a great question!
Jacob: Yeah, I mean, let’s say so.
Zendaya: Let’s say so… I think that what’s so special about Peter is he’s like – there’s such a quality that feels like he could be your best friend, like he could be your brother, like he could be any person in your life, and he could be yourself.
And he kind of, at least I know for me, he’s always trying to look for the positive in life, in other people, and in certain scenarios, even when it’s kind of detrimental to himself, he’s always trying to do the right thing.
And I think that quality alone, that positivity, that optimism, is really refreshing in a character and it makes you really want to root for him. And it also makes you feel kind of positive as well.
Like when you’re watching and you see him, you just root for him and you want him to do well and you want him to like succeed. But he just constantly gets hit by these challenges. And it’s like, well, if he can get through that, I can get through that.
Jacob: And he’s very respectful.
Zendaya: Yeah. And he’s just like a nice guy.
And I think that ultimately, like, I think it’s nice to – it’s nice to see characters that have an optimistic view on life, and bring you joy and still try to do the right thing. And also feel like they could
be a friend, and someone that you would want to have in your life.

Zendaya, you’ve spoken that you really like the way he handles the Spider-Man aura on the road with fans, with young people, so on and so forth. But he himself has said that he used to be a little agro at people coming to him for photographs (Tom bursts into laughter) and it was you who taught him how to be that person. So are you actually admiring your own creation, what you made him? (Zendaya’s turn to laugh)
Zendaya to Tom: Look what I’ve done! (laughs)
I think we’ve helped each other, honestly, because I think he’s better at creating boundaries with people and being like, ‘Actually, I’m having a day with my family, actually,’ you know. So I think I’ve gotten better at saying, being able to say no.
And I think I’ve helped you (Tom) be more open to saying yes, and remembering that you are – you know, a lot of the times to people, whether they might feel like a stranger to us, we don’t always feel like a stranger to them.
And we need to keep that in mind, that our experience of each other is different, you know and how we react to that, because even in that split moment, that’s the lifelong kind of impression that they’ll have of you. Even if you’re having a bad day. So I think we’ve helped each other in that regard.

On the topic of masculinity – Tom, Jacob, the ease with which the two of you have been with each other, always, that’s rare, because guys don’t always get along in such situations. Even among colleagues, if people are friends, but somebody is getting a slightly bigger role, the vibes often begin to change a little bit. Jacob, I saw you on the Jimmy Kimmel show eight years back when you FaceTimed Tom, and then I see you right now when you talk about him before his podcast with Amy, and I wanted to ask you - how is there absolutely no trace of, the least bit of envy or bitterness at being overshadowed by him?
And Tom, he talks about you like you are his brother, and you say, ‘I love the soul in this guy’. How do you think he’s managed to get through this long of seeing you take the limelight and never have the slightest degree of angst?
Tom: (speaking through the laughter of Jacob and Zendaya) I think we’re just really good friends.
Jacob: Yeah. I agree. It’s hard to be jealous of like a really close friend. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be close friends.
Tom: And also we’ve been through every part of this experience together. And I think that, you know, words on the page don’t necessarily equal importance in a movie. And I think that the three of us share the responsibility of representing this franchise equally, because we are all three equal parts as much as what makes this franchise tick.

Tom, I’d spoken to you in 2019 in Bali and you’d mentioned that your brother had a charity project happening in India, and you said, ‘Someday I’ll go there and I’ll see what India is.’ And then you did go there. A short summary of how you found it the first time you saw it?
Tom: Loved it. I thought it was an amazing place. I thought Mumbai was a city that was really vibrant and exciting. I’m excited to spend a little bit more time there than we did last time. I remember loving the food, met some lovely people. We went to an amazing cultural event. So it was really fun. (This discussion was before Tom landed in Mumbai again for The Odyssey.)


Tom, Zendaya, do you foresee yourself directing a Spider-Man movie in the future ever?
Zendaya to Tom: I think you could!
Tom: Whether I could is
definitely different to whether or not I should.
Zendaya: If you want to, you
definitely could.
Jacob: Yeah, you could if you want to do it.
Tom: I think having seen Destin do it this last time, I’d rather just work for him.
(Collective laughter)
Zendaya: Destin is the best!
Jacob: Yeah, he does a lot.
Zendaya: That is very, very true.
And he also has such a calm energy and is such a leader. So chill. Such great energy, so collaborative, and just makes everybody feel… He’s like Peter Parker! He’s got such a Peter Parker vibe.
Tom: He’s probably the most Peter Parker person ever.
Zendaya: Yeah, so positive, and you know, you go in and he might be stressed, but he is just like, yeah, we’re gonna have a great day, and everything’s gonna be fine.