Tom Holland had 'scary' moment that made him realise he needed to give up alcohol
Warning: This article contains discussion of alcoholism which some readers may find distressing.
Life is pretty sweet for Tom Holland right now.
Fresh of the success of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and Marvel's latest Spider-Man instalment, as well as officially tying the knot with Zendaya, the actor has plenty to celebrate .
But don't expect the actor to be raising a pint any time soon.
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The 30-year-old actor has been sober for over four years now, and spoken quite candidly about his decision to quit the booze after making a 'scary' realisation.
In 2023, Holland sat down with On Purpose podcast host Jay Shetty and got real about his decision to get sober.
The actor, who now owns his own non-alcoholic beer brand Bero, told Shetty: "I didn't one day wake up and say, 'I'm giving up drinking.' I just - like many Brits - had had a very boozy December. Christmas time, I was on vacation, I was drinking a lot."
As a result, the actor decided to try Dry January, but quickly realised that having a drink was 'all I could think about.'
He told the podcast: "I was waking up and thinking about it, I was checking the clock... and it just really scared me."
Fearing he may have 'a little bit of an alcohol thing', Holland recalled: "I sort of decided to punish myself and say,' 'I'll do February as well. I'll do two months off. If I can do two months off, then I can prove to myself that I don't have a problem'."
But after two full months off alcohol, the Marvel star felt that he was 'still really struggling.'
Holland noticed that he 'felt like [he] couldn't be social' or enjoy himself at 'work events' until he'd had 'a few beers'.
He confessed: "I felt like I couldn't go to the pub and have a lime soda, or go out for dinner. I was really, really struggling, and started to really worry that maybe I had an alcohol problem."
The BAFTA winner decided that he would hold off on drinking until he go to his birthday in June.
"I said to myself, 'If I can do six months without alcohol, then I can prove to myself that I don't have a problem.'"
Only the actor went far beyond June, and has been a teetotaller ever since.
Now, Tom says he's the 'happiest' he's 'ever been' in his life.
He told Shetty: "I could sleep better, I could handle problems better - things that would go wrong on set that would normally set me off, I could take in my stride."
Looking back on that time in his life, Holland was 'happy' to admit he 'was definitely addicted to alcohol,' but is 'over the moon' that he decided to put a stop to it.
“It’s honestly been the best thing I’ve ever done,” he said.
Please drink responsibly. If you want to discuss any issues relating to alcohol in confidence, contact Drinkline on 0300 123 1110, 9am–8pm weekdays and 11am–4pm weekends for advice and support.
Ali Condon