Tom Holland’s Next Dance: Playing Fred Astaire

Tom Holland. (AP)
Tom Holland. (AP)
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Tom Holland’s Next Dance: Playing Fred Astaire

Tom Holland. (AP)
Tom Holland. (AP)

Tom Holland is trading in his Spidey suit for some tap shoes. The “Spider-Man” star told The Associated Press Sunday that he plans to play Fred Astaire in an upcoming biopic.

“Oh, I am playing Fred Astaire,” Holland said at an event in London. “Yeah, I am.”

Producer Amy Pascal recently said she wanted Holland to play Astaire, but Holland had yet to comment on the possibility until now.

While Holland’s dance background hasn’t necessarily been highlighted in his superhero films, the 25-year-old did play the title role in “Billy Elliott: The Musical” from 2008 to 2010.

Holland said he still needs to read the Astaire script, which just came in a week ago.

“I haven’t read it yet. They haven’t given it to me,” Holland added. “Amy Pascal has the script. She FaceTimed me earlier. I was in the bath and we had a lovely FaceTime.”

But before he steps into Astaire’s shoes, Holland has another Spider-Man movie to unspool on the world: “No Way Home,” which hits theaters on Dec. 17. Whether or not there’s more Peter Parker in his future remains to be seen.

“I love this character more than anything. This character has changed my life. I have a relationship with my fans that is so wonderful. I couldn’t ask for it to be any better,” Holland said.

“But I want to do what’s best for the character. If it’s time for me to step down and the next person to step up, I’ll do so proudly. You know, I’d love to see a more diverse Spider-Man universe, which would be really exciting. If I could be a part of that — if I could be the Iron Man to the next young Spider-Man or Spider-Woman, that would be great. But at the moment, all I have to think about is the character and what’s best for Peter Parker,” he said.



Brian Wilson's Top Five Beach Boys Songs

Musician Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
Musician Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
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Brian Wilson's Top Five Beach Boys Songs

Musician Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
Musician Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

From the carefree sound of California surf music to the sophistication of later darker works, here are five of the top hits penned by influential Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson.

'Surfin' USA' (1963)

"Surfin' USA" was the Beach Boys' first global hit, taken from their eponymous debut album. A youthful ode to sea, sun and girls, it became an anthem for the West Coast and beyond.

It demonstrated Brian Wilson's increasing songwriting prowess as well as the band's unique vocal sound achieved thanks to double tracking.

"We'll all be gone for the summer/ We're on safari to stay/ Tell the teacher we're surfin'/ Surfin' USA," it rang out.

Wilson intentionally set his lyrics to the music of "Sweet Little Sixteen," by Chuck Berry, leading Berry to take legal action.

'California Girls' (1965)

On the big hit of the summer of 1965, Wilson's cousin Mike Love burst into song to celebrate the sun-tanned women of California.

"I wish they all could be California girls," the band members sang in seemless harmony.

It was also the first song written by Wilson under the influence of LSD, "which could explain why the accompaniment seems to move in a slow, steady daze at odds with the song's bright, major-key melody," Rolling Stone magazine wrote.

'God Only Knows' (1966)

It took Wilson just 45 minutes to write "God Only Knows," the legendary eighth track on the album "Pet Sounds" which has gone down as one of the greatest love songs ever.

Sung by brother Carl Wilson, Brian's rival Paul McCartney declared it to be his favorite song of all time and said it reduced him to tears.

But the record company and other members of the group were wary at the new turn in style.

'Good Vibrations'(1966)

"Good Vibrations" was a massive commercial success, selling one million copies in the United States and topping charts there and in several other countries including the UK.

At the time the most expensive single ever made, the "pocket symphony" was recorded in four different studios, consumed over 90 hours of tape and included a complexity of keys, textures, moods and instrumentation.

The song was a far cry from the group's surf-and-sun origins and the enormity of the task brought Wilson to the brink. He was unable to go on and complete the album "Smile," of which the song was to have been the centerpiece.

- 'Til I die' (1971) -

On side B of the album "Surf's Up,'Til I die" was composed in 1969 by a depressed Wilson worn down by mental illness and addiction.

He wrote in his 1991 autobiography that it was perhaps the most personal song he had written for the Beach Boys.