Two worlds collided when Spider-Man star Tom Holland met historian Tom Holland, with the pair joking about the confusion caused by their shared name.
The actor, 30, was a guest on a special episode of the author’s The Rest is History podcast over the weekend and had a light-hearted debate over which of them was the ‘real’ Tom Holland.
After some confusion over who got to sit in a seat labelled with their shared moniker, the host introduced his guest as ‘the real Tom Holland’.
But the Odyssey star interjected to say: ‘Not the real Tom Holland. The other Tom Holland.’
Historian Tom, 58, quipped: ‘I know my place. And were I the kind of person who regularly Googled himself, I mean, you would have destroyed my ability to do that.’
His guest apologised, prompting his counterpart to reassure him: ‘Well, I don’t Google myself so it’s absolutely fine.’
Spider-Man star Tom Holland has apologised to historian Tom Holland over the confusion caused by their shared name
Actor Tom can next be seen in The Odyssey as Telemachus, the son of Odysseus (Matt Damon) and Penelope (Anne Hathaway).
The pair spent much of their conversation talking about the classic myth explored in Sir Christopher Nolan’s movie.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe favourite hailed the prowess of the director for being able to fit so much content into one film.
He said: ‘For anyone that’s familiar with The Odyssey… turning it into a film feels like you’d have to make five films [because] it’s such a vast piece of work.
‘But Chris’s ability to tell that story in 130 pages while maintaining the heart and the soul of what makes the story so exciting, so emotional, so relevant today, I think it’s just such a feat…
‘The way I see the film is that Telemachus and Penelope represent the reality of the story and Odysseus’ side of the story — Matt’s side of the story — represents the myth and this humongous game of telephone that has been played with this text.
‘What I love about the creative choices that Chris has made on that side of the story is that he’s kind of pushed the boundaries of what might be deemed historically accurate or reality because that is the myth.’
Both Toms attended the London premiere of The Odyssey earlier this month but didn’t cross paths at the time.
The actor, 30, was a guest on a special episode of the author’s The Rest is History podcast over the weekend and had a light-hearted debate over which of them was the ‘real’ Tom
Both Toms attended the London premiere of The Odyssey earlier this month but didn’t cross paths at the time
When the historian shared his thoughts on the film on social media, he hinted at a potential upcoming meeting
In Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of The Odyssey, Tom Holland plays Telemachus, the son of the main protagonist Odysseus (played by Matt Damon)
However, when the historian shared his thoughts on the film on social media, he hinted at a potential upcoming meeting.
He wrote on X: ‘It is by some way the best cinematic adaptation of a Greek myth I have ever seen.
‘It honours Homer while simultaneously making something new of him.’
One commenter replied: ‘Bro, you’re in it.’
Another joked: ‘If Tom Holland meets Tom Holland the universe may implode.’
Tom replied: ‘Yes, just imagine if that happened.’
