Tom Holland Found Out He Was Cast as Spider-Man Through Instagram

While it’s no secret Tom Holland has made quite a few mistakes during his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the form of major spoilers, he’s widely regarded by fans as the best Peter Parker/Spider-Man to date. The actor, now 22, was 19 when he was cast as the Queens native, although the way he found out was far from eventful. In fact, many fans found out before he did.

While appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2017, Holland recounted the day he learned he’d be playing the next Spider-Man. "I basically had been auditioning for about five months and after my final audition they said, 'You'll find out tomorrow.' Fast forward six weeks I was still waiting, still waiting, then one day Marvel just posted on their Instagram, 'Go to our website to find out who the new Spider-Man is.' And that's it, I just found out online! They didn't call me up or anything,” Holland explained. Well, that’s underwhelming.

"I ran downstairs, I was going ballistic,” Holland continued. “My poor dog Tessa was terrified. And my brother Harry, who's pretty savvy with technology and stuff, was like, 'Dude, they've probably been hacked, bro. They would call you. They would let you know.' So I called my agents and they were like, 'This is amazing.' And then [Marvel Studios President] Kevin Feige finally rang me and said, 'I've got some great news, you're gonna be Spider-Man.' And I was like, 'I know, Kevin. You put it on Instagram.' Like, I'm 20, do you really think I'm not going to find it?"

Fans have joked since that Marvel didn’t tell Holland in fear he’d spoil the news, but we’re really not sure the reasoning behind not telling him. In any case, Holland has gone on to star in his first standalone film, Spider-Man: Homecoming, as well as appearances in Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. We’ll see him next in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame, and his second standalone film, Spider-Man: Far From Home, hits theaters on July 5.

This article also appears on Mental Floss.