Topics: Tom Holland, Christopher Nolan, Zendaya, Film and TV
Hollywood heavyweight Tom Holland has hilariously exposed the dramatic ultimatum his wife Zendaya gave him, after she threatened to leave him if he didn't accept a role in Christopher Nolan's brand-new blockbuster epic, The Odyssey.
The star-studded cinematic masterpiece, which officially hits theaters across the United States this week, features Holland as Odysseus’ son Telemachus and Zendaya as the powerful goddess Athena.
While fans are thrilled to see the real-life power couple sharing the big screen together outside of the Marvel universe, it was soon revealed that Zendaya had to use a bit of playful relationship leverage to ensure the collaboration actually happened.
During the promotional run for the film, details emerged about how the casting process went down for the high-profile project, with Tom recalling the exact moment Zendaya dropped her ultimatum bombshell.
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Speaking to PEOPLE, Holland revealed how he was initially approached by the Oscar-winning filmmaker to join the star-studded ensemble, prompting his wife to make it immediately clear that passing on a Christopher Nolan script simply wasn't a realistic option for their household.
When Nolan, 55, first asked him to costar in the movie as Telemachus, it led Holland to do a 'lot of thinking' about whether or not to accept the part.
“To be honest, when I got home after our meeting, I sat down with Z and was like, ‘I’ve been offered this movie,’” Holland recalled.
“And she was like, ‘By who?’ And I was like, ‘It’s the big one.’ And she was like, ‘Chris?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s Chris Nolan.’”
“And then we had Spider-Man that was literally scheduled to go the same day that we would start shooting,” he added.
As a long time fan of Nolan's work, Zendaya felt it was imperative that her husband signed on to take the role - and was willing to use whatever playful threats necessary to make it happen.
"“Z said, ‘I’ll leave you if you don’t do The Odyssey!'" admitted Holland.
Thankfully, he took the threat to heart and signed on the dotted line, paving the way for the couple to navigate the massive scale of a Nolan set together.
Because their characters inhabit entirely different parts of the epic narrative, the pair didn't actually share any speaking scenes or appear in the same shots throughout the movie, though Holland was famously spotted supporting his wife from the sidelines on her very first day of filming.
The project has already drawn massive attention online, particularly after Nolan showered Zendaya with rare praise by calling her performance in the film 'perfect' during a recent promotional interview.
The high-profile compliment quickly sparked a friendly on-set rivalry, with Holland cheekily joking that he is still waiting to receive his own perfect review from the visionary director.
For the adoring public, the couple's effortless, witty banter and mutual support for one another’s careers continues to make them one of the most celebrated pairs in modern entertainment.
With the film tracking for a massive box office opening, their hilariously candid relationship moments have guaranteed that The Odyssey will completely dominate social media feeds all weekend.
