Tom Holland and Gordon Ramsay Bond Over A Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich

Right, what happens when Spider-Man and an Iron Man come together? We make sandwiches. Yes! That's right. Please, no backflips. No backflips? No, no. Last time I did a backflip on camera was in Columbia and I broke my nose. Right, welcome to Scramble in the stunning Gordon Ramsay Academy right here at number 22 Fishersgate where today I am joined by an incredible actor, an amazing young man, the founder of Vero. Please welcome the amazing Tom Holland. Thank you Gordon for having me. Nice to see you. Finally. How are you first off? Yeah, fantastic. Good to see you. Busy in all the right ways. Yes. Prepping for Spider-Man 4, working on Vero. Loving it. Growing up in Kingston, did you ever imagine you'd become a superhero? No. No? Not at all. I was always a good athlete. I was on the B team always. I was never an A team athlete. You must have been the A team. Come on. No. We had a really strong year. My brothers were in the A team in their years but they didn't win anything. Gotcha. We're going to make an amazing sandwich. Okay. But it's done with an incredible marinade. Fantastic. Because we start off with a little buttermilk and something unique. I know we can drink this. Yes. But it's also multifaceted. Fantastic. It helps to tenderise the chicken like no other. Okay. Take me back to the beginning. We wanted to create something that would take out of the equation at a restaurant or a bar, what non-alcoholic drinks do you have? Yes. We wanted to create something that was synonymous with surprise. And it's also Bero, Hero, Spider-Man. There's all sorts of different stuff in it. There are so many non-alcoholic drinks out there. I'll be honest. I wasn't a massive fan. Bero has definitely, definitely changed that perception. Because it does taste like the real thing. How hard was that? We have a very different process. We brew it in a very unique way. Our brewmaster, Grant Wood, he essentially uses a yeast that, I think we might be the only company using it at the minute. Right. And I think, you know, I've tried every single non-alcoholic beer under the sun. Yeah. When we were developing this. Yes. And, you know, I'm biased, but it really is the best. It's good to be biased. Yeah. Did you realise at the time, putting it together, it would be that difficult to come up with such a unique flavour? I mean, I know what I like in beer. And I can't pretend like I know what Grant is doing. I mean, the way that, I mean, you know what it's like. The recipes for those things are more like chemistry equations than they are. Yeah. You know, cooking recipes. Science. So for me, it was just about communicating what I didn't like and what I was missing. Yeah. And we went through a long process. It took a long time. And for a long time, it tasted like ****. Yeah. It's a process, right? It was mingy. And then one day, he just turned it on. Is that fine? Turned in three different SKUs, which we all fell in love with. Unique styles. Yeah. All drinks that I would drink back in the day when I was drinking. Gotcha. And, yeah, so I'm very proud of our Grant Wood. He's fantastic. And so you should be. It's delicious. Thank you. I want to go back to the beginning. Inspired into acting. How did that, how did it start? Do you know what's really interesting is I never wanted to be an actor. Right. I just always loved performing. I guess I was a bit of an attention seeker. I just really, really loved dancing. Right. And I went to this school on a weekend where I would do this Saturday school. So I've got a whole chilli in there. It's going to be a hot one. I'll explain why in a minute. Absolutely. You've got two chillis there. You've got a red and a green, right? So I should put both in there? Absolutely. Okay. Absolutely. I did this show every year which was like this kind of lame street dance show. Where was? In White Lodge in the park. Right. The ballet school. Yes. And I just by complete chance, the headmaster of the school kind of told my parents, you should get your son to audition for Billy Elliot. Stop it. So it was never anything we sought out. It was completely by chance. Yeah. So I went and auditioned. They must have liked me. They started sending ballet teachers to my very, very masculine rugby school. Wow. Which did not go down very well. Wow. And so every lunchtime at school I would have these teachers come and teach me ballet. And after two years of auditioning I got the part. I did the show for two years. And my parents just saw it as an amazing exercise to learn new skills, learn how to be a professional. And then an agent came to see the show and booked me. We had no idea that the next moment you were going to be acting. Yeah. We didn't invite the agent. We didn't seek out an agent. She just came to see the show and said, would you like representation? I love that. And I said, yes, obviously. Why wouldn't you? And then my first audition out the gate was for a film that did really well. I got American reps from there. And then I just never looked back, really. That first part was quite a dark story, wasn't it? Yes. And did you find that hard going from zero into that? That must have been quite a transition, right? Because it wasn't easy picking. I think as a kid being on a movie set, as you know, is so exciting and impressive. Immense. There's all these amazing, creative people doing different things that are all contributing to the bigger picture. I was so distracted by my now love for movies that I wasn't really that hung up on how intense the experience was. Amazing. And in terms of nerves, how do you hide those? How do you deal with that kind of pressure? Because you make it so seamless now. I've always had this thing. The best advice I ever got was from a director I worked with as a kid. Right. Who asked me to describe... I'll put a bit of mustard in there, yeah? Absolutely. Some mustard. God, I was not about to ask him to open that for me there. I was going to give every ounce of strength to open it. He asked me to describe the feeling of queuing up for a roller coaster. Right. And he said, imagine that feeling and how would you describe that feeling? Gotcha. And I said, oh, it's excitement. Gotcha. So then he said, now imagine that you're going on stage. Describe that feeling for me. He goes, oh, it's nerve-wracking. He goes, now describe the actual physical feeling of it. And you're like, oh, they're the same. Right. So I've just spent my entire life kind of brainwashing myself to believe that when I'm nervous, I'm just really excited. Food runs in the family brilliantly, right? I mean, growing up in a disciplined household, Sam being a prolific chef. How do you deal with that on set? Have you stopped picking? Are you more cautious about what you're eating? Are you focusing more on your diet? It depends on what I'm working on. Like, we're going on to Spider-Man now, which means I've got to be really careful with what I eat so I can stay fit and healthy and, you know, be on top of my game every day. What's been so lovely about Sam is, you know, you've been very helpful for Sam, which I'm hugely appreciative of. He's naturally talented with food, by the way. Yeah, he really does have a gift. So there's a natural connect that is just, it's obvious. And he was born to cook, let's get that absolutely clear. With or without me, he was born to cook. He's been doing a cookbook. Yes. So every day, he is cooking these amazing meals. And because my brothers and I live just around the corner from him, we've had nearly a year of being cooked for by my brother. And it has been glorious. Love that. And favourite dishes? Sam does an amazing katsu curry. Love it. He does an amazing sticky pork bao bun. He does everything from scratch. Love that. And then the super indulgent, when you want to super relax and, like, sod it. Give me 2,000 calories. What is it? Is it a curry? My favourite, I have to say, is the chicken veronique. But with dauphinoise potatoes. It's like a chicken dish, but he peels the grapes. Right. And it's in a really creamy sauce. Wow. Okay. Like veronique? Chicken veronique, yeah. That's exactly it, yeah. And I love that. Do you have any idea how long it is to peel those f***ing grapes? Oh, mate, he sits there all day doing it. Should we get these other boys to start peeling these grapes? I mean, if there's one power growing up on the back of all those incredible movies, what superpower would you have to have in real life? What would make my life easier? I would have the ability to teleport. Right. You and I had that summer where we were on the same flight every second weekend together. Every other weekend. We'd sit next to each other. A little glass of champagne. Yeah. Maybe a few glasses of champagne back then. Yeah. Once I got the bottle back from the hostess, then we'd sit there talking. I never told you what happened, like, the third or fourth time. I just finished filming. I sat down, got on board, tracksuit on, glass of champagne. I took a sleeping tablet. You came on last, sat down in front of me. I'm like, oh, s***. I'm f***ed. No way. You're the only person that kept me up for four hours. I've taken this tablet. And I was so f***ed. I was so desperate to get to sleep. I was just like... Mate, you should have just told me to f*** off. I wouldn't have left you alone. We were having such a great chat that we'd talk about this, talk about that. And then all of a sudden, I was like... Oh, mate. Tom, we're landing in four hours. We've got to get to sleep. That is hilarious. Do you remember? Yeah. Half past four in the morning. I'm like, jeez. Cheers, bud. Cheers, man. Gordon James. Ever thought about using the word James with future movies going forward? Listen, there's speculation at the minute. We'll keep it to a minimum for now. You think? Yeah, we'll get there one day. Shake and not beerode. It doesn't look the same in a Martini glass. I know. Seriously, can you imagine what's going to happen to your life if you do? First of all, you'd love that opportunity, right? Oh, dude. I mean, every young British actor, it's the pinnacle of working in our industry. I already consider myself to be the luckiest kid alive. I could never have dreamed to have the career that I've had. Sure. And how many of these should I put in? So we'll dress it lightly. Nothing works with a sort of heavy cloy. Okay. You know, a slaw. We want it nice and light, so two tablespoons. Two tablespoons. Some fresh lime juice. A little bit of lime zest in there and give it a good mix. Salt, pepper. A little touch of hot sauce. And then we can start putting this beautiful bad boy together. And I'm serious. I mean, whilst this is nice and sort of fruity. Yeah. Honestly, the tenderization it does in chicken is off the charts. Really? Yeah, really, really good. Do you find that the lack of presence of alcohol makes a difference in that process? I think it's to do flavour profile. Yeah. Lack of alcohol. And I think, and listen, we drink. We drink in moderation. So this is a really nice go-to refreshing thing, especially in the middle of summer. Yeah. And so that's the sort of pick-me-up. I've never been a massive sort of pint guy. Right, right, right. I don't go out for pints. But this thing, super ice cold in an ice glass, yeah, off the charts. Thank you so much. Your world, my world, I'm notorious for burnouts. Yeah. You found that balance brilliantly. Yes, thank you. How do you get to that point? And what was the moment that you said, right, hey, time out, recuperate, refresh, relax, and charge those batteries? Because it's very rare to hear that kind of balance, especially in your 20s. Interestingly, I feel like I spent a lot of time with you over lockdown. Lockdown was the first time I'd been forced to take a break. Passport, put away. Yeah, literally. And I think as a young kid, fame is such a fickle thing. Yeah. And because it happened so quickly for me, as quickly as it happened, it felt like it could just as quickly disappear. Disappear, gotcha. So I felt this need to constantly be working. And when COVID happened and I was forced to stay at home, it made me realise just how important, you know, your personal life is as well as your professional life. So now I'm taking a much more active step in finding ways to, you know, enjoy the fruits of my labour, perhaps. And I, your cooking videos, because I've never really been a cook. It's always been Sam. Yeah. I would literally, every day, watch one of your videos, go to the supermarket, buy the ingredients, come, make an absolute dog's dinner of it. And then Sam comes back and lifts it up. Yeah, then Sam comes and makes it, yeah. I love that. This sibling brotherhood, I mean, the connect is incredible. Our parents, every night, family dinners, arguments at the family dinner table. Always. Funniest memories at the family dinner table. Always. No phones, no TVs on, sit down and talk. Yeah. And I think after we left school, we all just got closer and closer. And, you know, we all lived five, ten minutes from each other down the road. So I think the only reason they're coming to my house at the minute is I'm the only one that has air conditioning. I think they're coming over to enjoy the fact that my kitchen is nice and cool. Did you manage to get your head around that story of Billy Elliot? Because it is quite groundbreaking. Yeah. I saw the musical when Elton created it. Oh, it's an amazing piece of work. We sat there and there wasn't a dry eye in the theatre. And you've been to Newcastle. Yeah, of course. You've just seen how devastating and how hard that is. Yeah. Did you realise the kind of impact, in terms of the ground it would have playing that part? Again, I think when we were kids, I was so caught up in the idea of being young and on the West End and performing in front of 2,000 people every other night. But as I've grown up, what I love about the show is it's a musical for the everyday man. It's the dad crying while he's singing to his son about the hardships of going back to work when he's on strike and going against his union. And I think it's really important, that sort of stuff, you know. Did you ever think it would help set up for one of the biggest viral moments of your entire career? Lipsync battle. No, I did not. And what was really great about that is people didn't know that I could dance. No. I kept that quiet. I don't know why. Oh boy, you did. And I came out with a bang. Came out with a bang? I mean, Jesus. So funny, Zendaya and I, we were chatting at the time about what we were going to do. And we had agreed that we would take it easy. What? That was the agreement. That it was like, I'm not going to do anything crazy. You're not going to do anything crazy. We're just going to keep it nice and easy breezy. And then when I was working with the creative team coming up with the ideas, they kind of pitched this umbrella thing. And as we were rehearsing, it got crazier and crazier. And then the rain machine came in. And then I was like, **** it, I want to wear fishnets and do this. And I want a wig and a quick change and stuff. What were your brothers saying? Well, my dad, when I told my dad, he was like, son, I don't think that's a good idea. Did you borrow mum's? Were they mum's fishnets? They were my granny's actually. And I was like, no, dad, it will be really fun. Like, I'm going to have a good time. And I think he was just, at that time in my career, he was very worried about me becoming too famous too quickly. Right. So he was really keen for me to not do extra TV shows that I didn't have to do. To try and maintain that part of my childhood. I mean, it's annoying because only 177 million people saw it. It's ridiculous. Yeah, it is. And honestly, of all the pieces of work I've done, that I've put my heart and soul into, blood, sweat and tears, the lipsync battle is the thing that everyone brings up. It's never Spider-Man. It's never, you know, any of my other movies. It's always lipsync battle. It haunts me. Viral. Viral sensation, mate. Beyond belief. Well done. Great job. Thank you. Where are those fishnets, by the way? They're framed, actually, at the Met right now. We got so heavily engrossed in the conversation. We didn't even talk about this freaking delicious sandwich. Mate, we threw that together so quickly. So, bibb lettuce. I'm a big fan of the sort of butter lettuce. Way more flavor. I'm not a big fan of iceberg. Start off with that. Then it goes to the slaw. Then the chicken. It's been dredged twice. Nice. So it gets really nice and super crisp on the outside. Chicken nice and tender. And then a little bit of hot sauce on top. And the slaw with a little jalapeno bound with a light mayo. And Bob's your uncle. It looks delicious. It looks gorgeous. I love the way you squash it down like that. It just makes it all nice and congealed. I'm used to eating in a car on the road. We're tucking in. Shall we? Let's go. Here we go. Oh, my word. That's lovely. Isn't that nice? That is delicious. I think the slaw really brings it together, guys. Wash it down. The chicken. The chicken's gorgeous. Isn't it? Delicious. Thank you so much for watching. How cool was that? Right. Head to beerobrewing.com to find out where you can pick up this amazing beer. And don't forget to subscribe for more amazing videos. James, it's always a pleasure. Shake and not die.