Tom Holland was bullied for being passionate about dancing at school.
The ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ star has opened up about being picked on when he was young for his love of ballet, but says it wasn’t enough to stop him from performing.
He said: "I had my rough patches. There was times when I was bullied about dancing and stuff. But you couldn’t hit me hard enough to stop me from doing it."
The 21-year-old actor starred on a regular basis as Billy in ‘Billy Elliot the Musical’ until 2010 after being spotted by choreographer Lynne Page.
He said:"They saw potential in me and they started sending dance teachers to my house."
Tom portrays the titular web-spinner in the Marvel movie and says he relates to the character, also known as Peter Parker, because they were both uncool in the playground.
He told PEOPLE magazine: "I, like Peter, accepted I wasn’t the cool kid at school and just found my group of friends and got on with it."
The ‘Captain America: Civil War’ star hopes that other young kids will take from the new movie that even superheros go through hard times and show them that they are not alone.
He continued: "Peter Parker’s storyline hits every key point of growing up. "It’s so fantastic for young kids to see a superhero going through the things they go through."
Meanwhile, Tom recently shared how he got over his ‘Spider-Man’ "doubts" following a frank chat with co-star Robert Downey Jr.
He said: "Robert Downey Jr. has been really great, he’s been there during a lot of this.
"There have been moments, particularly during ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ where I’ve doubted my capabilities. We all have doubts.
"And he pulled me aside one day and said, ‘You know, you got this, this was meant to be. I had the same feelings doing ‘Iron Man’, the same anxieties, but know that they picked you for a reason – because it feels right, it works. It’s not about how good you can do the web-slinging or the stunts, it’s about the personality you bring to the character.’
"That eased by fears and wise words like that from Iron Man, you don’t forget. They are there stored in the vault for repeat use."