‘Uncharted’: Tom Holland Felt ‘Weak at the Knees’ Starstruck Working With Antonio Banderas and Mark Wahlberg
Even multimillion-dollar superhero movie stars like Tom Holland get starstruck. The young Spider-Man actor joined veteran actors Mark Wahlberg and Antonio Banderas in the newly-released Uncharted adaptation, which was a dream come true for Holland in every aspect. Not only was he a big fan of the video games, but also Banderas and Wahlberg. Holland recently revealed that he was in awe when he first started working with his older co-stars.
Tom Holland had the ‘Uncharted’ writers add a scene between him and Antonio Banderas
Uncharted sees Holland play Nathan Drake, an amateur treasure hunter who sets out to find a $5 billion fortune and the truth about his long-lost brother, Sam (Rudy Pankow). Meanwhile, Banderas plays Santiago Moncada, a ruthless fortune seeker who believes the gold has belonged to his family for generations. Moncada will do anything to make sure Nathan can’t find the treasure first.
Despite being rivals, Nathan and Moncada don’t have many scenes together in the film, according to Holland. During an appearance on Virgin Radio, the Cherry star said he specifically requested for the Uncharted writers to add a scene between him and Banderas so they could work together at least once.
“Reading the script, I was sort of saying to [director Ruben Fleischer], ‘You can’t have the hero and the villain never meet. So can you please give me an opportunity to work with Antonio?'” Holland said.
Thankfully, he got his wish, and he had nothing but great things to say about Banderas.
“He was delightful. Honestly, he was so lovely, and I’ve been a massive fan of his for a very long time, so to share the screen with him and to work with him was a real honor,” Holland said. “He’s double-handsome in every way. He is just the coolest guy. I was weak at the knees working with him!”
Tom Holland found it ‘daunting’ to team up with Mark Wahlberg in ‘Uncharted’
Holland spent much more time with Wahlberg, who plays Nathan’s mentor, Victor “Sully” Sullivan. Still, filming with Wahlberg was just as “daunting” of an experience.
“I’ve been a big fan of his work for a very long time,” Holland said on the radio show.
Nathan and Sully’s friendship is a big part of the Uncharted video games and the adaptation, so Holland knew he needed to have great chemistry with Wahlberg. Thankfully, that chemistry came to them with ease.
“This film kind of lives and dies with the relationship of Nate and Sully, so it was important for everyone involved that we had great chemistry, and we were just lucky that we did, naturally,” Holland continued. “It wasn’t something that we needed to work on. [Mark and I] are big golfers, so we played golf with each other on the weekends. It was incredibly, incredibly competitive, and it was a lot of fun.”
Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland formed a brotherly relationship
Nate and Sully banter like brothers in the film; Wahlberg and Holland are no different. Wahlberg also commented on his chemistry with the Spider-Man: No Way Home star, noting that Holland has become a little brother to him. And as the youngest of nine, Wahlberg jumped at the chance to be an older brother for a change.
“You know what, I never got to be the big brother. I was always the little brother, so I was always kind of picked on and treated [badly] by my brothers,” the Lone Survivor star told ET Canada. “[Tom] was definitely a formidable opponent. He’s done a great job. And he was a good little brother to have for sure.”
Uncharted is now playing in theaters.
