‘I’m over the moon to be sober’: Spider-Man star Tom Holland talks about giving up alcohol for 18 months

‘I was definitely addicted to alcohol,’ says British actor Tom Holland. Now he’s sober and feels better than ever

Holland noticed he had a problem when attempting dry January and all he could think about was having a drink

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Spider-Man star Tom Holland has stopped drinking for the past 18 months, and feels much happier and healthier. Photo: Sony Pictures

Published: 11:45am, 12 Jul 2023

British actor Tom Holland hasn’t consumed alcohol in 18 months and is the “happiest I’ve ever been in my life” as a result.

The Spider-Man star, 27, spoke candidly about his sobriety journey on the podcast “On Purpose With Jay Shetty”, where he explained when and why he changed his lifestyle habits.

“I didn’t wake up one day and say, ‘I’m giving up drinking,’” the actor says. “Like many Brits, I had a very, very boozy December. [It was] Christmas time, I was on holiday, I was drinking a lot, and I’ve always been able to drink a lot. I think I get my genes from my mum’s side – I can drink. And I decided to just give [it] up for January.”

Holland says he initially just wanted to participate in “dry January”, abstaining from drinking alcohol for the month. But the actor realised that during that time, “all I could think about was having a drink”.

Zendaya as MJ (left) and Tom Holland as Spider-Man in a still from “Spider-Man: No Way Home”. Photo: TNS

“It really scared me,” he recalls. “I was like, ‘Wow, maybe I have a bit of an alcohol thing.’ So I 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.’”