Tom Holland has recently revealed that he has been sober for one year and four months in a bid to improve his mental health.
While the actor has experienced physical strains during his acting career, he has come to learn that the mental aspect of the job is equally gruelling.
“But the mental aspect, it really beat me up, and it took a long time for me to recover afterward, to sort of get back to reality,” Holland explained in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.
His work on the set of his latest project, a ten-part TV series called The Crowded Room, taught him to recognize his triggers and the importance of maintaining good mental health.
The series, which is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on June 9, is based on the real-life story of Billy Milligan, a man at the centre of a highly-publicised court case in Ohio in the late 1970s.
Holland plays the role of Milligan in the psychological thriller and said that he hopes the show will leave viewers with “more respect and more sympathy for people who are going through mental health issues”.
In the show, Milligan has a sequence of discussions with investigator Rya Goodwin, played by Amanda Seyfried.
Through these conversations, he comes to better understand his own mental health and the tragic events that led to the incident that saw him jailed.
Working on The Crowded Room made Holland realize that something had to give, and he made the decision to step away from drinking to focus on his mental wellbeing.
“It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before,” he said.
The British actor hopes that fans will learn from the series and become more educated about mental health issues.
“I hope that people will feel educated about the powers of mental health, the struggles, [and] our incredible abilities to survive,” Holland added.
With his own mental health journey, Holland hopes to be an advocate for others who may be struggling with similar issues.
His decision to stop drinking and focus on his mental health is a positive step forward, and it sends a message to his fans that taking care of oneself should always be a top priority.
