In a recent SAG-AFTRA Foundation event promoting his latest series, ‘The Crowded Room,’ 27-year-old actor Tom Holland opened up about seeking advice from Benedict Cumberbatch on dealing with the challenge of expressing emotions on screen. Holland revealed that he faced difficulties in portraying crying scenes, both in his professional and personal life, leading to heightened anxiety.
During the event, Holland shared, “Benedict Cumberbatch is someone that I asked for advice a lot about acting. I went through a phase where I was really, really struggling to cry, in my personal life also.” He expressed how this struggle impacted his on-set performance, causing excessive worry and hindering his ability to cry on cue.
Holland credited Cumberbatch with teaching him a technique to overcome his fear of crying during their collaboration on the 2017 thriller ‘The Current War.’ According to Holland, Cumberbatch used a diaphragm-related method that involved simulating laughter, breathing rapidly, and bringing emotions to the surface. This approach helped Holland embrace crying scenes and develop confidence in his ability to convey emotions on screen.
“The technique that he told me was this kind of thing that he’s able to do with his diaphragm, which is almost like laughing. I’m probably giving away his secrets here. He would do this thing where he would kind of simulate laughing and he would breathe really, really quickly, and that would sort of, I guess, bring the emotion to the surface, and then he could just take it and ride the wave from there,” Holland explained.
The actor went on to express his newfound appreciation for crying scenes, stating, “I’d started doing that, and I love crying scenes now. I love it; I feel really confident. It’s something I really feel like I have in my wheelhouse. I don’t have to draw on past experiences or personal matters anymore, which is really important, especially for a show like this.”
Holland’s journey from struggling with emotional scenes to confidently embracing them showcases the mentorship and guidance he received from fellow actor Benedict Cumberbatch, providing insights into the challenges actors face in conveying authentic emotions on screen.
