Michael Block is a 14 time GLAM Award nominated writer, producer, and host of the podcast Block Talk. Throughout his time in the entertainment industry, he has worked on and off Broadway as a stage manager, written several produced plays, critiqued hundreds of theatrical performances, drag and cabaret shows, and has produced events randing from drag competitoons to variety concerts!
On Block Talk, he interviews nightlife personalities, covers the wide world of entertainment through features, ranking episodes, and recaps ALL of Drag Race, as well as Dragula and Survivor. He has interviewed hundreds of RuGirls that span the globe at DragCon NYC, DragCon LA, and DragCon UK.
In his free time, he makes one-of-a-kind jewelry and gift baskets with his mom. He is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.
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Whenever an iconic character is portrayed by a series of performers, there’s always a debate about whom is the greatest. It’s happened to everyone from Superman to James Bond. In the 21st century, the biggest fight has circled around who wore the Spidey suit the best: Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, or Tom Holland. While we all have our favorite (mine being Holland’s), each actor is more than Peter Parker. They actually have a resume beyond the Spider-Man films! It may come as a shock, but Holland has a career beyond the neighborhood-friendly web-slinger.** **
We are here to rank Holland’s best films beyond the ones in which he played Spider-Man. Yes, that means we will not discuss any Marvel Cinematic Universe film, including the ones that were titled Spider-Man. From the start as a young teen actor to his roles where he leant his voice for animated films, the list provides quite a range beyond the superhero genre. Whether playing in the action of adventure films or providing some extraordinary emotional moments in genre, Holland has proven he’s on his way to being a Hollywood great of the generation. The fun part of this game is seeing how many overlapping costars he’s had. It’s quite a bit.
Not every strong performance from the British star translated into an equally great film. Sadly, that’s the case for 2015’s historical adventure drama In the Heart of the Sea. Directed and co-produced by Ron Howard, the film is based on Nathaniel Philbrick’s In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, about the sinking of the American whaling ship Essex in 1820, an event that in part inspired Herman Melville’s 1851 classic novel Moby-Dick. Framed as a historical interview, where a young author named Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) visits the last surviving crew member, Thomas Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson), to uncover the true account of the ordeal. Set in Nantucket, the original voyage is fraught with tension from the start as the crew is led by inexperienced Captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker) and a highly skilled, class-disadvantaged first mate, Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth). While hunting for whale oil in the remote South Pacific, the ship is viciously rammed and destroyed by a gargantuan, vengeful white-and-gray sperm whale. A true fight for survival, In the Heart of the Sea is a compelling exploration of the human cost of 19th century greed.** **
Howard does a breathtaking job of bringing the maritime disaster to life. The movie features spectacular cinematography that captures the ocean’s terrifying power and delivers heart-pounding whale-attack sequences. The film is grounded in some profound themes — the class conflicts of the era, the environmental impact of the whaling industry, and the extreme moral dilemmas. Even with a strong ensemble, the characters are largely underdeveloped. That said, Holland is a bright spot among the superstar cast. Holland portrays Thomas Nickerson, the cabin boy and a younger version of Gleeson’s character. As the vulnerable young cabin boy, his traumatized survivor was filled with emotional depth and physical dedication. It’s one of the roles that helped him net his iconic Marvel superhero.
Holland was always going to find his name in the mix for big action-adventure projects. And when it came to finally bringing the iconic Uncharted video game series to the big screen, it didn’t matter his age or time in the business; he was the best person for the job. Based on the hot PlayStation game, the Reuben Fleischer-directed film follows a street-smart young thief, Nathan Drake (Holland), who is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg). They embark on a globe-trotting, action-packed quest to recover a $5 billion fortune lost by the explorer Ferdinand Magellan 500 years ago, racing against ruthless rivals who believe they are the rightful heirs. An adrenaline-rush thrill ride, Uncharted channels the spirit of the game while delivering a popcorn-style action flick with nonstop, absurd, over-the-top sequences. And yes, that includes the straight-from-the-game midair cargo plane fight and the wild flying pirate ship helicopter battle.
Uncharted is the type of film where you must turn your brain off from logic. The amount of double-dealing, backstabbing, and gravity-defying antics is meant for entertainment rather than reality. But being based on a high-octane game, it’s what you’re asking for anyway. If you love a good treasure hunt, Uncharted delivers in spades. Holland and Wahlberg are a fun pair, playing into their archetypes well. If you’re a short king, the script is littered with jabs. Be prepared. The rest of the cast, including Antonio Banderas, Tati Gabrielle, and Sophia Ali, do an admirable job of keeping up with the main duo, but Wahlberg and Holland are the draw. Many die-hard fans believed Holland to be too young to play Drake, but his charisma makes up for it. No offense to Wahlberg, but if Uncharted should return for more, it’s solely for Holland’s brilliance and star power. Though the plot can feel extremely formulaic and clichéd, it’s pure fun.
2020 was a tough year for cinema due to the global pandemic, so it’s possible that some films fell to the wayside. One such film was Antonio Campos’ Southern Gothic psychological thriller The Devil All the Time. Based on the novel of the same title by Donald Ray Pollock, the story follows interlinked groups of troubled characters in a deeply religious, rural, and violent community from the end of World War II through the 1960s. Featuring an ensemble cast including Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Haley Bennett, Harry Melling,** Jason Clarke**, Riley Keough,** Eliza Scanlen**,** Robert Pattinson**, and Sebastian Stan. The overarching plot explores the dark consequences of religious extremism, generational trauma, and a cycle of violence.
The Devil All the Time is intense as it is a dark, gripping dive into religious fanaticism and rural corruption. Rather than a straightforward plot, the movie spans over a decade, smoothly connecting the lives of traumatized war veterans, twisted preachers, and corrupt cops. The separate storylines are expertly paced, eventually colliding in a visceral, violent climax. The film captures a dark, brooding atmosphere of the mid-century Midwest and rural South. To strengthen the immersion, the book’s author serves as the film’s narrator. The stellar cast is pushed out of their box as many play against type, including Pattinson, who takes on the flamboyant, chilling, and unhinged corrupt preacher Preston Teagardin. Holland steps far outside his usual heroic roles to play Arvin Russell, a quiet but deeply violent protector pushed to his limits. This film needs a Spidey palette cleanser after viewing.
If you’re eager to see Holland as a wee lad alongside some of today’s biggest stars, then 2013’s How I Live Now is a must-watch. Directed by Kevin Macdonald and based on Meg Rosoff’s novel, the romantic speculative drama tells the story of Daisy (Saoirse Ronan), a troubled American teen sent to the English countryside to live with her cousins. Her summer of unexpected love and family connections is abruptly shattered when a nuclear war breaks out, forcing her and her younger cousins, Eddie (George MacKay), Isaac (Holland), and Piper (Harley Bird), to fight for survival and find their way back to each other. A dissertation on trauma, how connection helps people endure impossible circumstances, and the resilience of young love, How I Live Now subverts standard young adult clichés as it’s grounded in an apocalyptic war premise.
How I Live Now is a gritty, realistic survival thriller. The film is rooted in raw, emotional human stakes. Instead of focusing on military battles, Macdonald keeps the lens intensely focused on the characters’ localized experience, making the stakes feel deeply intimate. Unlike many dystopian teen films, it does not glorify child soldiers or gloss over the brutal, unforgiving realities of conflict. That said, war is still a terrifying, looming threat. Ronan is completely compelling as she brilliantly portrays Daisy. She is an abrasive, neurotic teenager who transforms from a cynical city kid into a resilient survivor. Holland takes on a cheerful, capable, and supportive younger cousin. Though it’s a smaller part than his leading roles later in his career, How I Live Now showcases an endearing, grounded warmth in the early, carefree scenes before shifting to darker territory.
Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.
You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.
You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.
Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.
You’ve been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What’s left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.
Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.
You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.
Be prepared for a visceral disaster survival film if you dare take on The Impossible. It’s as immersive as a story of this nature could get. This is the film that truly put Holland on the mainstream map following his West End career in Billy Elliot. Directed by J. A. Bayona and written by Sergio G. Sánchez, the story is based on the experience of María Belón and her family in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It follows the Bennett family on a 2004 Christmas vacation in Khao Lak, Thailand, which turns into a nightmare when the Indian Ocean tsunami hits. It’s a harrowing tale of survival and the emotional reunion of a family that is swept apart by the wall of water and must navigate the chaotic, devastating aftermath. Filmed with powerful realism, The Impossible focuses on human resilience. **
*The Impossible *dispels any thought that an ordeal isn’t survivable. Bayona uses practical effects to recreate the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. To create the agonizing, murky underwater sequences in the manner he did adds a sense of raw, deafening panic that leaves a lasting impression. It’s an action-survival thriller driven by performance. The story is anchored by Naomi Watts’ Oscar-nominated performance. Perhaps she was elevated because of Holland’s breakout performance in his live-action debut. At just 16, Holland brought a deeply raw emotional performance. He is a deeply traumatized boy who is forced to be a caretaker for his severely injured mother, capturing the heartbreaking loss of childhood innocence. He underwent grueling physical training for the film’s intense tsunami and debris sequences, proving his commitment to his craft at a very young age. Holland has always had the chops to act. The Impossible is proof.
Holland has had some excellent costars in his career, even if they happen to be animated. Such was the case for Spies in Disguise. In the 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios animated feature, Lance Sterling (Will Smith), an arrogant super-agent, and Walter Beckett (Holland), an awkward young scientist, must team up to save the world. When the agent is accidentally transformed into a pigeon, the odd couple must rely on each other to stop a cybernetic terrorist. During their adventures, Lance and Walter learn that the best way to handle global threats is through teamwork and out-of-the-box thinking. A comedic spy romp, Spies in Disguise is a buddy comedy that explores the contrast between brute force and non-violent, inventive problem-solving.
The animated comedy is a strong blend of dynamic action and heartfelt humor. Instead of relying on traditional, lethal spy weaponry, the story promotes a positive message of kindness and empathy. Spies in Disguise is filled with a dynamic voice ensemble. Smith’s suave charm perfectly complements Holland’s endearingly nerdy tech officer, creating an unforgettable “odd couple” buddy dynamic that rivals that of some of his live-action MCU counterparts. In addition to Holland and Smith, the cast includes Ben Mendelsohn, Rashida Jones,** Karen Gillan**, DJ Khalid, and Reba McEntire. Though Spies in Disguise is not Holland’s best animated film, he brings a lot of charm to his role as a super nerd.
If you enjoy epic adventures based on real individuals, ***The Lost City of Z ***should be at the top of your queue. Based on the 2009 book of the same name by David Grann, the true story tells of British explorer Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam), who journeys into the Amazon at the dawn of the 20th century to find a mysterious, ancient civilization he dubbed “City Z”. Fawcett’s obsessive quest culminated in his and his son, Jack’s (Holland), unexplained disappearance into the jungle in 1925. A slow-burning adventure, The Lost City of Z treats the traditional exploration genre as a profound, meditative character study rather than a standard action-adventure thriller.
Thanks to director James Gray’s vision and approach, The Lost City of Z has the feel of an old-school cinematic feel. The cinematography captures both the immense splendor and the suffocating harshness of the Amazon. At its core, the movie uses the search for the mythical city as a metaphor for the pursuit of purpose and meaning. In doing so, Hunnam delivers a captivating, complex performance. He wonderfully finds the haunting, spiritual pull of the unknown and the tragic cost of that pursuit on Fawcett’s personal life. The supporting cast of Robert Pattinson and Sienna Miller deliver fully rounded performances of fellow traveler Corporal Henry Costin and his wife Nina Fawcett, respectively. Holland is quite good in the film, though his costars outshine him here a bit. His character’s complex relationship with his father is a key emotional driver toward the end of the film. He delivers a strong performance as a youth who transitions from harboring resentment over his father’s long absences to sharing his obsessive, adventurous spirit.
This one comes with a caveat. This list is based on the films Holland is in. How much it is in what capacity was next specified on how a film gets ranked. Even if he’s just a small voice in a film with a singular physical actor, it doesn’t detract from the brilliance of the project. Hence, why Locke is locked in here. Written and directed by Steven Knight, Locke is a psychological drama in which the entire story unfolds inside a single moving car. Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy), a dedicated construction manager, abandons the eve of the biggest concrete pour of his career to drive to a hospital in London for the birth of a child conceived during an affair. Throughout the 90-minute real-time drive, Ivan’s carefully built life completely falls apart over a series of hands-free phone calls. He must navigate multiple crises simultaneously. He confesses his infidelity to his wife, Katrina (Ruth Wilson), resulting in her throwing him out of the family and his teenage sons, Sean and Eddie (Bill Milner and Holland), expressing their deep confusion and heartbreak. He continuously calls Bethan Maguire (Olivia Colman), the woman having the baby, to soothe her anxiety. All while trying to save his career, managing his construction team through the massive, highly sensitive concrete pour. A genuinely unique project, Locke is a cinematic one-man play.** **
Locke is a masterclass in movie exploration. Hardy is the entire film. He brings immense depth into a truly gritty, grounded, nuanced performance. He proves that nail-biting tension doesn’t need to come from bangs and booms but from deep emotional conflict in conversation. Hardy has an illustrious career, but Locke is a tour de force role. Perhaps the title has multiple meanings, but with the camera locked onto him, Hardy has to convey shifting emotions simply using microexpressions and vocal tone. And it works. Knight knows how to write a script, and it’s on full display here. The conversations feel intensely authentic, creating a psychological puzzle where one man’s life systematically falls to pieces because he refuses to run from his responsibilities. Holland is solid and natural as the younger son. Brief but albeit impactful, Holland’s Eddie uses his time to speak to his absent father about a football match while sensing that something is terribly wrong at home.* *Locke remains one of Holland’s highest-rated movies, and you don’t even see his face. That’s magic.
This one is a personal one. My brother and I lost our dad just a few short days before Onward came out, so it took a few years before I found the strength to watch. Onward is a severely underrated Pixar film. In the urban animated fantasy adventure directed by Dan Scanlon, teenage elf brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot (Holland and Chris Pratt) go on a quest in a modern suburban fantasy world to resurrect their late father for 24 hours. When their magical spell goes wrong and only his lower half materializes, they must race to find another Phoenix gem to complete the magical resurrection. A deeply emotional, resonant film that cleverly blends classic fantasy tropes with a modern, suburban twist, Onward is a genuine tear-jerker. Onward could easily have been a heavy drama, but the magical mishap that causes the brothers to resurrect only their dad’s legs allows for levity throughout the epic journey. This provides both comedic, physical humor and a genuinely sweet, tactile way for the characters to connect with him.
Most importantly, Onward is about a brotherly bond. They may come from different vantages and not always see eye to eye, but their adventure together becomes a fruitful one. Ian’s realization that Barley was essentially acting as a father figure for him all along provides an incredibly moving conclusion. Onward boasts wonderful world-building as typical fantasy creatures like elves, centaurs, and manticores are given a contemporary twist where their world sees magic rendered obsolete. And yet, it’s the magic that’s always been inside that triumphs. Having an MCU connection gave Pratt and Holland something to play even if they never recorded together. Holland is perfectly placed as Ian, showcasing the right mix of vulnerability, awkwardness, and emotional depth.
The highly anticipated Christopher Nolan adaptation of The Odyssey has finally arrived, and there was no doubt that it would top any Tom Holland non-Spider-Man list. The epic fantasy action film adapts Homer’s Ancient Greek poem for a visual spectacle like never seen before. King Odysseus (Matt Damon) battles gods, monsters, and fate itself during a perilous, decade-long journey home to his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) after the fall of Troy. Trapped on a distant island by the nymph Calypso (Charlize Theron), who has used magic to erase his past, Odysseus’s memories gradually return. His harrowing tale unfolds in a series of flashbacks, detailing encounters with the Cyclops, Sirens, and his guilt over the horrors of the Trojan War. Back home, Odysseus has been missing for 20 years and is presumed dead. His grown son, Telemachus (Holland), and wife Penelope must fend off aggressive suitors who have taken over the palace, consumed their estate, and are vying for the throne. Brought to life on a massive Nolan scale, The Odyssey is a cinematic event.** **
Another rung on the Nolan masterpiece ladder, the cinema craft is quite incredible. Rather than relying entirely on CGI, Nolan utilized massive builds, including 60-foot animatronic puppets for the Cyclops and actual Viking ships for the seafaring sequences. And lest we forget about the Trojan horse. The 40-foot structure literally crammed 20 actors, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, and an IMAX camera into the practical prop’s cramped interior. His decision to film in the IMAX format brought new challenges to the filming process, but it paid off when it came to performance. This iteration of the story brought out profound humanity and emotional resonance to the immortal myth. Damon delivers a truly grounded performance, leading a dynamic ensemble which also features Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o,** Zendaya**,** Samantha Morton**,** Elliot Page**,** Bill Irwin**, and more. Holland’s performance is perfectly calibrated and innocuous. It’s certainly one of his most mature roles to date. Whether you caught it in the IMAX format it was intended for or in a simple theater setting, The Odyssey is still a breathtaking blockbuster that will be a definitive film in both Nolan and Holland’s careers.
