Tom Holland Says Alcohol Was 'Getting in the Way' of His Career

The 'Spider-Man' star says although his career has "blossomed," he isn't sure it would have "come to fruition had I still been drinking"

NEED TO KNOW

• Tom Holland quit drinking in January 2022 after realizing alcohol was negatively impacting his career and mental clarity
• He launched a non-alcoholic beer brand, Bero, inspired by his sobriety journey and desire for alcohol-free options
• Holland credits sobriety with improving his personal and professional life, including his thriving career and relationships

Tom Holland says that drinking was "getting in the way" of his career, calling alcohol an "incredibly dangerous thing."

"Being an actor and living your life on the big stage can be really stressful," the Spider-Man star, 29, who quit drinking in January 2022, told USA Today. "I think that alcohol, for me personally, really compounded that issue. And, since getting rid of the booze and feeling more like myself and waking up clear-headed every day and fresh to start the day, I just feel so much more confident in myself as who I am as a person."

"Drinking was something that was ultimately really getting in the way of my professional life," he said.

The actor began his sober journey by participating in Dry January in 2022. Although he originally planned to abstain just for the month, he realized that alcohol had become too integral an part of his life. Since then, he's launched a brand of non-alcoholic beer, Bero. He's said an option like that would have made his first year of sobriety easier.

Holland — who stars in the hotly anticipated summer films The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Avengers: Doomsday, out in December — told the outlet that he's not sure his career would be in the same place had he continued drinking. (His personal life is also thriving, having reportedly married longtime partner Zendaya earlier this year.)

"I've been so lucky in the last four years that my career has really blossomed in a really lovely way, and I really love what's happening and what I have to come in the future," he said. "And I don't know how much of that would've come to fruition had I still been drinking."

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While he said "alcohol can be an amazing thing," Holland cautions that it can also be "an incredibly dangerous thing. And I just love seeing that young people are turning away from booze and looking for alternatives. And it creates, I think, a safer environment, a more communal environment."

His friends have also "really slowed down drinking," Holland shares, explaining that during a recent get-together with "all of my mates … I don't think anyone had a drop of alcohol."

While "that used to be, like, a really, really boozy affair. We'd be up till 1 in the morning drinking. We'd be all hungover the next day," this time, "Everyone was really present. There was no waking up the next day feeling groggy. And I just love what it's done for my life in general."

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