Uncharted's Ruben Fleischer Reveals What It's Like Working With Tom Holland - Exclusive
Tom Holland is one of the biggest movie stars in the world today. He rose to fame playing "Spider-Man" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most recently in the critically and commercially acclaimed "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Now he's top-lining "Uncharted," an adaptation of the PlayStation video game franchise of the same name where Holland plays a young version of adventurer Nathan Drake. After the movie scored a number-one debut in theaters, Holland is fast becoming the king of the box office again. Audiences love the actor's charming screen presence and the impressive physicality he brings to his roles, a combination that's a perfect fit for "Uncharted," which tells the story of the beginnings of Nathan's treasure hunting partnership with his mentor Sully (Mark Wahlberg).
Director Ruben Fleischer is responsible for bringing the story to the screen, which means he worked intimately with Holland to develop his character. Fleischer has previously worked with big stars including Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Woody Harrelson in "Zombieland" and Tom Hardy in "Venom," so he's no stranger to collaborations with talented actors. However, in an exclusive interview with Looper, Fleischer revealed that Holland deserves most of the credit for the Nathan Drake adaptation we see in "Uncharted."
Holland offers a 'perfectly realized' vision of Nathan Drake
It's always a challenge to adapt a beloved character from another medium to the screen, but Nathan Drake was an especially high bar in "Uncharted." The character has amassed legions of fans over multiple video games, and when director Ruben Fleischer was shooting the movie version, there was no way of knowing if audiences would embrace Tom Holland in the lead role. Yet, Fleischer noted that the actor came into the movie with a determination to make it the best it could be.
"I've got to give Tom most of the credit, if not all, for the way he brought Nate to life," Fleischer confessed. "He really prepared himself physically and mentally to take on the role, and physically is very noteworthy because so much of that action he performs himself, and he's at the center of so many of those moments and those sequences doing truly death-defying things. Whether it's hanging from a chandelier four stories above the ground or hanging on for dear life on a box, and whether or not it's actually outside the back of a plane, it looks like it's outside the back of a plane. He came ready to play."
Fleischer clearly came away from the experience of directing "Uncharted" impressed with Holland's commitment to his character. "He's also a massive fan of the games," Fleischer observed. "I think — this predates my involvement with the project — but I think this all was spawned because he loved playing the games. From what I understand, he [pitched Sony the idea of Holland playing a young James Bond, which inspired the 'Uncharted' adaptation]. He definitely came in with an intention, and I think it was perfectly realized."
"Uncharted" is currently playing in theaters.