Tom Holland is opening up about his mental health journey as it relates to his latest role.
The Crowded Room, which premieres June 9 on Apple TV+, and is inspired by a true story and the ensuing 1981 novel The Minds of Billy Milligan, stars the Spider-Man actor as Danny Sullivan, a man who is arrested following a 1979 shooting in New York City.
The real-life crime story dealt with dissociative identity disorder; Billy Milligan blamed his alternate personalities for his crimes.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Holland, who also executive produced the project, says it is “an insight into … the ways in which we can deal with trauma.”
“I’m no stranger to the physical aspects of the job doing the whole action-movie thing,” he told the outlet. “But the mental aspect, it really beat me up and it took a long time for me to recover afterwards, to sort of get back to reality.”
Holland said he had “a bit of a meltdown at home” because he felt the need to “get rid of this character.” “I was seeing myself in him, but in my personal life.”
Tom said, “It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.”
The interview mentions Holland is one year and four months sober, though it does not mention what substance he was using.
“Learning about mental health and the power of it, and speaking to psychiatrists about Danny and Billy’s struggles, has been something that has been so informative to my own life,” he said.
Holland said he’s made strides in “recognizing triggers” for himself and pinpointing “things that stress me out.”
The actor said he hopes viewers will “have more respect and more sympathy for people who are going through mental health issues” because of The Crowded Room.
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