Actor Tom Holland says he has turned down opportunities to host Saturday Night Live because of difficulties related to dyslexia, particularly when material must be read aloud or shown on cue cards. In interviews and podcast discussions, Holland explains that while he can read, reading out loud causes a “mental block” and can lead him to freeze, especially when cues change during live performance. He links his reluctance to the format of SNL, where many lines are read from cue cards held off-camera, and he says this setup makes him anxious about being unable to keep up in the moment. Holland also describes dyslexia affecting other working situations, saying read-throughs for film projects can be his “worst day at work,” prompting him to study and highlight lines in advance and rely more on skimming than reading. BBC News and other outlets report that Holland has been praised for sharing the reasoning publicly. Additional coverage notes that he has previously been asked multiple times to host SNL, but he remains concerned about the live read-aloud demands.
Tom Holland says dyslexia led him to decline hosting Saturday Night Live
Actor Tom Holland says he has turned down opportunities to host Saturday Night Live because of difficulties related to dyslexia, particularly when material must be read aloud or shown on cue cards. In...
- Tom Holland says he has dyslexia.
- He says he declines hosting Saturday Night Live because of anxiety around reading cue cards during live sketches.
- He explains that reading out loud triggers a “mental block” and can cause him to freeze.
- He has said his dyslexia also affects film read-throughs, where he prepares lines in advance.
- Multiple outlets report Holland has been asked to host SNL several times but has not done so.
Tom HollandThroughout his time playing Spider-Man, Tom Holland has hit all kinds of showbiz milestones, from glossy magazine covers and creating viral moments to, most recently, marrying someone just as A-list as he is.But one thing he’s never done is host Saturday Night Live on either side of the Atlantic.However, it turns out there’s a good reason for this.Speaking to SNL legend Amy Poehler on her podcast Good Hang, Tom pointed out that he’s “heavily dyslexic”, and wouldn’t feel comfortable appearing on the live sketch comedy because so much of it is read from cue cards held off-camera by members of the production.“I’m heavily dyslexic, which is one of the reasons why – and I’d love to talk to you today about it, actually – I’ve never done SNL,” he explained, to which Amy agreed that “many dyslexics” have said the same thing in the past.Tom continued: “I’m just so petrified at the concept of, like, trying to read something and they change.“I can read fine. But when I have to read out loud, it just becomes, a kind of… it’s like a mental block, and I can freeze.”He added: “I’ve been really lucky that they’ve asked me a few times to do it, and the truth is that I’m actually just really scared at the prospect.“I love the show, and I love the idea of having fun and making a fool of yourself in such a fun, creative way. It’s just that thing of the cue cards.”He also shared that his dyslexia also causes issues when doing read-throughs in the early stages of his film projects.“My worst day at work is the read-through,” he shared. “At the read-through, I will really try and highlight everything and learn my lines ahead of time, so that I’m more kind of skimming it than I am reading.”Tom is in good company, though, as his Marvel colleague Mark Ruffalo turned down hosting SNL for the same reason.“It just scared the living shit out of me,” he told the podcast WTF With Marc Maron in 2024. “It scares me. I’m dyslexic. I’m not gonna lie.”READ MORE:Tom Holland's Comments About Playing Spider-Man After 30 Have Come Back To Haunt HimTom Holland Just Made A Very Surprising Admission About His Iconic Umbrella PerformanceZendaya Says She Knows The Moment She Was Sure Tom Holland Was 'Her Person'
2 months agoThe actor has revealed he turned down presenting Saturday Night Live out of fear of cue cards changing.
2 months ago"When I have to read out loud, it becomes a kind of mental block." Tom Holland Says He Won’t Host SNL Because Of His Dyslexia Chris Coplan
2 months ago
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