Tom Holland explained why he quit alcohol in 2022 following an eye-opening experience during Dry January. On the October 17 episode of the Rich Roll podcast, the Spider-Man actor, 28, said, “I couldn’t quite wrap my head around how much I was struggling without booze in that first month—and it really scared me.”
“I decided, as a sort of punishment to myself, that I would do February as well as January. It was no easier. If anything, it got a little bit harder. So I was starting to kind of panic, thinking, ‘Damn. I have a bit of an alcohol thing.’”
He further adds how doctor made him realisee the negative impact it has on his liver. He quotes, “Wow, maybe I have a bit of an issue here. I got through March and started to feel a little bit better, but was still really struggling,” he explained.
“If I can make it to June 1st, which is my birthday, and I can do six months without booze, I will have then proved to myself that I don’t have a problem. I’m just young and enjoying a drink.”
At the time of his birthday, he noticed positive changes, “I really started feeling the benefits of a sober life. I started sleeping better. I was handling stressful situations better. My relationship [with Zendaya] was better. My relationship with my family was better. My relationship with my work was better.”
“By the time I’d crossed that annual mark, I was done. I was like, ‘I’m never gonna drink again because this is the best version of myself. It was my go-to to celebrate, and my go-to to commiserate,” he said.
As an actor, Holland found himself surrounded by opportunities to drink. “You always have a reason to be drinking. Or, I felt like I always had a reason to be drinking.”
While Holland stated that he was “never a bad drunk,” he admitted that he was unable to quit once he began. “I wasn’t the type of person that could nip to the pub for a pint,” he told me. “I wanted to lock the door behind me.” His connection with booze deteriorated after he realised, “I polished off a mini-bar one too many times.”
