Tom Holland shared why he left alcohol in 2022 after an eye-opening experience during Dry January. On the October 17 episode of the Rich Roll podcast, the Spider-Man actor, 28, discussed, “I couldn’t quite wrap my head around how much I was struggling without booze in that first month — and it really scared me.”
“I decided, as a sort of punishment to myself, that I would do February as well as January.”
“It was no easier. If anything, it got a little bit harder. So I was starting to kind of panic, thinking, ‘Damn. I have a bit of an alcohol thing.’”
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The Spider-Man star revealed that an “upsetting conversation” with his doctor about his liver further fueled his realization that he might be facing a bigger issue. Holland thought, “Wow, maybe I have a bit of an issue here.”
“I got through March and started to feel a little bit better, but was still really struggling,” he explained. “If I can make it to June 1st, which is my birthday, and I can do six months without booze, I will have then proved to myself that I don’t have a problem. I’m just young and enjoying a drink.”
Tom Holland says ‘This is the best version of myself’
But by the time he reached his birthday, Holland began to see the positive changes in his life. “I really started feeling the benefits of a sober life. I started sleeping better. I was handling stressful situations better. My relationship [with Zendaya] was better. My relationship with my family was better. My relationship with my work was better.”
The Uncharted actor decided to complete a full year without alcohol, and by the time he crossed that milestone, he was certain about his decision. “By the time I’d crossed that annual mark, I was done. I was like, ‘I’m never gonna drink again because this is the best version of myself.’”
“It was my go-to to celebrate, and my go-to to commiserate,” he said. As an actor, Holland found himself surrounded by opportunities to drink. “You always have a reason to be drinking. Or, I felt like I always had a reason to be drinking.”
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While Holland clarified that he was “never a bad drunk,” he acknowledged that he didn’t have the ability to stop once he started. “I wasn’t the type of person that could nip to the pub for a pint,” he said. “I wanted to lock the door behind me.” His relationship with alcohol worsened when he realized, “I polished off a mini-bar one too many times.”
