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Tom Holland to play dance legend Fred Astaire in biopic

Astaire is born.

“Spider-Man” star Tom Holland confirmed Sunday that he’ll be portraying iconic dancer, actor and singer Fred Astaire in an upcoming Sony biopic.

“Oh, I am playing Fred Astaire. Yeah. The script came in a week ago,” Holland told reporters of the project, which is still in its early stages. “I haven’t read it yet; they haven’t given it to me.”

The role was first hinted at in a GQ profile on the 25-year-old actor last month, in which producer Amy Pascal said that she wanted Holland to play the late Hollywood icon in the yet-to-be-titled flick. However, the “Avengers: Endgame” actor revealed that he was indeed cast in the part while promoting “Spider-Man: No Way Home” at a recent press event.

Tom Holland and costar/girlfriend Zendaya attend a photocall for "Spiderman: No Way Home" at The Old Sessions House on December 05, 2021 in London, England.
Tom Holland and co-star/girlfriend Zendaya attend a photocall for “Spider-Man: No Way Home” at The Old Sessions House on Dec. 05, 2021, in London, England.
WireImage

The young thespian added that Pascal had contacted him about the role via Facetime while he “was in the bath.

“We had a lovely FaceTime, but I will be playing Fred Astaire,” Holland mused.

Naturally, Holland will have some pretty big dancing shoes to fill when taking on the part of Astaire. Widely regarded as the greatest dancer in film history, the Omaha-born choreographer has appeared in more than 30 movie musicals and formed one of Hollywood’s most iconic on-screen partnerships with Ginger Rogers.

However, Holland is no slouch himself: He cut his teeth as a stage performer at London’s West End theater, playing the titular role in “Billy Elliot the Musical” between 2008 and 2010. The actor also memorably appeared on “Lip Sync Battle” in 2017, in which a fishnet-wearing Holland danced and sang to a mashup of “Singin’ in the Rain” — from the 1962 Gene Kelly musical — and “Umbrella” by Rihanna.

Fred Astaire is considered the greatest dancer in film history.
Fred Astaire is considered the greatest dancer in film history.
Getty Images

Holland’s forthcoming project isn’t the only Fred Astaire flick coming down the pipeline. Jamie Bell, who played “Billy Elliot” in the 2000 film, will star as the legendary entertainer opposite Margaret Qualley’s Ginger Rogers in a new movie for Amazon Studios.

Holland is currently focused on his latest appearance as Peter Parker in “Spiderman: No Way Home,” which hits theaters on Dec. 17.

Contrary to prior rumors, this reportedly won’t be Holland’s final hurrah as the web-slinger: producer Pascal allegedly plans to make yet another “Spiderman” trilogy with the actor in the title role.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers tear up the dance floor in the 1936 film "Swing Time."
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers tear up the dance floor in the 1936 film “Swing Time.”
Bettmann Archive

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Tina Sanders

Tina is the mind behind Gruntstuff.com, and she ideated it when she was working for an online magazine company where she used to cover US-based headlines news. She holds a degree in journalism and has more than 4.5 years of experience in an online magazine company. She had the idea while working there but when she was quite sure about starting something on her own, she took the risk and left the job to start Gruntstuff. Since then she added a few team members, and along with them, she creates General US news content on the site.

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