During a recent appearance on the Fan Expo 2024 panel in Toronto, Marisa Tomei chose her favorite Spider-Man scene: seeing Tom Holland and Zendaya fall in love.
“I think some of the favorite things were really just watching Tom and Zendaya grow up and watching them fall in love… and seeing their phenomenal talent,” the actress said. “Just being, like, blown away from the get-go… I mean, I’m blown away.”
Tomei went on to talk about Zendaya and Holland, “They carry enormous, enormous star power, enormous power and they manage to be real people at the same time and just, they’re multitalented. They can do everything! They sing, they dance, they act, they do stunts, they design fashion. I mean, what are they not doing? They’re incredible, incredible people.”
Tomei played Aunt May Parker in movies with Holland’s Spider-Man, including ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming,’ ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home,’ and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’
Holland and Zendaya were first linked romantically in 2017 while promoting ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming.’ They have been more open about their relationship recently, but Zendaya said last year that she wants to ‘protect the peace’ in their relationship.
“Parts of my life, I accept, are going to be public,” Zendaya told Elle. “I can’t not be a person and live my life and love the person I love. But also, I do have control over what I choose to share. It’s about protecting the peace and letting things be your own but also not being afraid to exist. You can’t hide. That’s not fun, either. I am navigating it more than ever now.”
“We were both very, very young, but my career was already kind of going, and his changed overnight,” Zendaya also talked about Holland’s career journey before. “One day you’re a kid and you’re at the pub with your friends, and then the next day you’re Spider-Man. I definitely watched his life kind of change in front of him. But he handled it really beautifully.”
Before getting the Marvel role, Holland had only done some British TV, small film roles, and played Billy Elliot in London. Zendaya already had fame from the Disney Channel.