Tom Holland has gained plaudits for his portrayal of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films since taking on the role.
In a SiriusXM interview, host Jessica Shaw pointed out the “problematic” belief that women should be shorter than male partners in heterosexual partnerships.
Holland and Zendaya’s on-screen romance was what she was referring to. As a joke, the Spider-Man actor quipped that his co-star is “not that much taller” than him, reports Men’s Health.
“It’s a stupid assumption,” he says. “It’s ridiculous. I remember when we were doing the Spider-Man screen tests; I mean, you’d have to ask [director] Jon Watts this question, but every girl we tested for both roles was taller than me.
And I wonder whether that was a decision Jon had made; there was no one who tested that was shorter than I was. To be fair, I am quite short. So maybe that’s a decision Jon Watts made, and something he was aware of, and he wanted to break the stereotype.”
After Shaw brought up their kiss in Far From Home, people talked about it. Zendaya referred to it as a “sweet moment” in a statement. When they didn’t try to “cheat” by framing the shot so that he would appear taller than her, the actress expressed gratitude for it.
Their co-star, Jacob Batalon, put it this way: “It’s not a weird thing for women to be tall.”
In Hollywood, it’s not unusual for a woman to tower over a man. Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden are two famous examples. Diaz is 5’9″ and Madden is 5’6″ tall, respectively. 5’11” actress Nicole Kidman “Tom Cruise, on the other hand, stands at a height of 5 feet 7 inches.
Keith Urban, her current boyfriend, is 5’10”. It’s true. Daniel Radcliffe stands at 5’5″, whereas Erin Darke is 5’7″ tall. /TISG