Tom Holland wants to dance like Fred Astaire, one take at a time

Tom Holland wants his Fred Astaire movie to do the hard part in full view: the dancing, his feet, one continuous shot.

The actor gave a fresh update on the long-gestating biopic during an appearance on Good Morning America, saying the film is next on his plan once his current promotional run is finished. Holland has been out promoting The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

“For me, what I love about my job is the challenges,” Holland said on Good Morning America. He added that “Fred Astaire” is the project he and his team are planning to tackle next, and that he will return to dance training after his tours wrap.

Back to the dance studio

Holland said he has already started early rehearsals for the role, and the first taste of the work landed with both thrill and nerves.

“I did my first few rehearsals recently, and it both filled me with excitement and absolute dread because I’ve got so much work to do to try and do Fred proud,” Holland said.

The ambition is not small. Holland said he wants to avoid using dance doubles for the biopic and perform the routines himself. He also said he hopes the dance numbers can be filmed in single takes, in the spirit of Astaire’s own screen work.

Holland described his goal as using “no doubles” and doing “all of the dancing,” with the dances shot “in one shot,” adding that this is “how Astaire would have done it.”

A Sony biopic years in the making

Holland first revealed in 2021 that he would portray Astaire in the Sony project. Deadline has reported that the film is produced by Amy Pascal, directed by Paul King and written by Lee Hall.

The Sony film is separate from Fred & Ginger, the Amazon and Automatik project centered on Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Deadline has reported that Jamie Bell is set to play Astaire in that film, with Margaret Qualley as Rogers, in a story about the dance partners’ relationship on screen and off.

There is a tidy dance-world overlap between the two Astaire projects. Bell broke out in the 2000 British film Billy Elliot, which was written by Hall. Holland later starred as Billy in Billy Elliot: The Musical on London’s West End from 2008 to 2010, after a brief run playing Billy’s best friend, Michael Caffrey.

For now, Holland’s update puts the focus on preparation. The actor’s comments on Good Morning America suggest the movie’s dance sequences are being treated as a central challenge, with the star aiming to carry the movement himself rather than hand it off to doubles or hide it in edits.

This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.