Tom Holland says he intends to perform every dance himself in his upcoming Fred Astaire biopic, shooting each number in a single take without body doubles, just as Astaire himself would have wanted. Speaking on Good Morning America, Holland admitted early rehearsals left him with “excitement and absolute dread,” and confirmed he’ll return to the studio to train once his current press tour ends. Paul King directs the untitled project, which begins filming in January 2027.
Tap shoes over stunt doubles: that’s the deal Tom Holland just made with himself, and with Fred Astaire’s ghost. On Good Morning America this week, the actor confirmed he plans to shoot every dance sequence in a single take, no cuts, no substitutes, exactly the way Astaire insisted decades ago. His first rehearsals left him torn between thrill and panic, by his own admission, and the press tour for The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day is barely behind him before he heads back to Pineapple Dance Studios to relearn his footwork. Cameras roll in January 2027 under Paul King’s direction, from a script by Steven Levenson, but Holland is already treating rehearsal like the real performance.
One take, no doubles
Tom Holland has settled on his next role, and it comes with a self-imposed rule. Appearing on Good Morning America earlier this week, the actor confirmed that an untitled biopic of Fred Astaire will follow his packed summer, and that he intends to earn it the hard way. “I have a desire to use no doubles, to do all of the dancing, to shoot those dances in one shot, how he would have done it,” he said. Astaire famously insisted on full-body framing and long, unbroken takes, so the bar has been set by the subject himself.
A dancer before he was Spider-Man
Holland does have a head start. He began dancing at age 9, trained in hip-hop, ballet and tap, and by 12 had landed the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical in London’s West End. Even so, the early sessions humbled him. “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,” he admitted.
Back to Pineapple Dance Studios
First, he has 2 blockbusters to finish selling. Holland spent this month promoting Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and once the press tour wraps, he plans to “dust off the old tap shoes and go back to Pineapple Dance Studios,” the London institution where he trained as a kid. That leaves him roughly 6 months of rehearsal runway before cameras roll under director Paul King, the filmmaker behind the Paddington movies and Wonka. King’s history of meticulously choreographed sequences backs up those single-take dance numbers as a realistic plan rather than just an actor’s wishful thinking.
Five years in the making
Holland first revealed the project back in 2021, meaning nearly 5 years will separate the announcement from the first day of shooting. The screenplay comes from Steven Levenson, the Tony-winning writer of Dear Evan Hansen who also scripted Tick, Tick… Boom! for Netflix. Sony has yet to announce an official title, any additional cast members or a release date. Filming is scheduled to begin in January 2027.