Jon Bernthal Says He Helped Film Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Audition — and Takes “a Little” Credit for the Role

Jon Bernthal says he played a small but memorable part in Tom Holland’s journey to becoming Spider-Man. During a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Bernthal recalled filming audition tapes with Holland while they were both working on the film Pilgrimage — a time when both actors were trying out for major Marvel roles.

Bernthal was auditioning for The Punisher at the time, and Holland was preparing to make his case for Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War. The two actors helped shoot each other’s audition tapes on set. Bernthal remembers it clearly — not just for the experience, but for Holland’s confidence.

“He just had this belief,” Bernthal said. “He’d be saying, ‘I am Spider-Man.’ And I was like, ‘I mean, you’re super talented and all, but the odds are kind of against you.’ But he really believed it.”

Bernthal said he jokingly gave Holland a tip that ended up shaping the audition. “I told him, ‘Maybe you should run up that wall and do a double backflip and then start the scene,’” he said, laughing. “He was like, ‘You think that’s not too much?’ And I said, ‘I don’t think any of these other fools are doing that.’” Holland did exactly that — and the rest is history.

While Bernthal made it clear he doesn’t claim full credit, he didn’t pass up the chance to take a small amount of it. “It’s not that I take responsibility for him,” he said, “but, you know, like a little something.”