Tom Holland's eye-watering Avengers bonus sent to wrong actor in huge error

25 January 2024 , 16:13

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Tom Hollander has explained how an agency mishap led to him erroneously receiving Tom Holland's seven-figure bonus (Image: Variety via Getty Images)

Tom Hollander has revealed the moment he noticed an "astonishing amount of money" in his bank - that was intended for his very similarly-named fellow actor, Tom Holland.

White Lotus star Hollander was the unintended recipient of Holland's Avengers bonus - a cool seven-figure sum. Hollander, 56, and Spider-Man actor Holland, 27, were briefly signed to the same agency, which is how the accident came about.

Hollander, who boasts roles in Pirates of the Caribbean and Pride and Prejudice on his highly impressive CV, said he was watching a friend perform in a theatre when he learned of the gaffe. Knowing his pal was receiving £300 for the role, Hollander said he felt "smug" knowing he'd recently been paid 100 times that amount by the BBC.

The 'astonishing' sum should have gone to Holland for his Avengers Spider-Man work (Mike Reed/ACE Pictures/REX/Shutterstock)

Holland hit the big time in 2015 after signing a six-film deal with Marvel Studios (Getty Images)

He was soon brought back down to Earth, however, after learning how much the much younger Holland nets for his work. Speaking on Late Night With Seth Meyers, Hollander joked: "I sat smugly in the [theatre] audience having just done a BBC show for £30,000 or something which was going to get me through the next year or so, and I was thinking, 'Well, this is marvellous, I'm very prosperous'.

But he added the "feeling of smugness disappeared" and turned to despair at the interval after he spotted a payment listed as a "Box Office bonus for The Avengers". Hollander continued: "It was an astonishing amount of money. It wasn't his salary. It was his first box office bonus. Not the whole box office bonus - the first one. And it was more money than I'd ever [seen]. It was a seven-figure sum.

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"People in the accounts department got confused. It's been very difficult, because you know I was here first but he's enormously famous!"

Brit School graduate Holland signed a six-film deal with Marvel Studios in 2015 resulting in a rapid rise to stardom. Acting is where any similarities between the pair end though, as Hollander explained. "I obviously don't actually get mistaken for him, but in non-visual contexts, I'm mistaken for him all the time. Talking to utility companies... or when I'm introduced to somebody's very excited, then confused, then disappointed children."

Holland has been dogged by rumours of a split from his Spider-Man co-star Zendaya in recent times, with the pair not seen together in months. Earlier this month, however, he quashed the speculation and insisted they are still together. After being approached by a Hollywood photographer who asked if they had broken up, he responded: "No, absolutely not."

Alan Johnson