On screen, Tom Holland plays a character with a secret identity. In real life, he had a case of mistaken identity.
The "Spider-Man" actor's massive bonus for the box office success of an "Avengers" film was once sent to similarly-named actor Tom Hollander.
Hollander, a fellow Brit known to many for his role in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise as well as "The White Lotus", revealed the mix-up during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers this week.
The 56-year-old said that his agency confused his name with Holland's and sent him the younger actor's box office bonus while he was at a play.
"I got an email from the agency saying, 'Payment advice slip: Your first box office bonus for 'The Avengers','" Hollander told Meyers. "And I thought, 'I don't think I'm in 'The Avengers'."
The size of the paycheck stunned the veteran thespian. Holland starred in both "Avengers: Infinity War" as well as "Avengers: Endgame", which pulled in a combined box office gross just shy of $5 billion.
"It was an astonishing amount of money," Hollander said. "And it wasn't his salary, it was his first box office bonus. Not the whole box office, the first one. It was more money than I've ever — it was a seven-figure sum."
With their names being just two letters apart, Hollander says it's not the first time he has ever been confused with the "Spider-Man" actor.
"Obviously I don't actually get mistaken for him [in real life], but in non-visual contexts I am mistaken for him all the time," he told Meyers. "Talking to utility companies, they ask 'And what's your name?' And they go 'Tom Holland?' because they heard 'Tom Holland.' I go 'No, it's Tom Hollander.'"
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