Spider-Man star Tom Holland talks ADHD and dyslexia

Tom Holland is best known for swinging between skyscrapers as Marvel’s Spider-Man.

But in his latest role, the 27-year-old actor isn’t battling villains. He’s building LEGO sets and breaking stigmas.

In a refreshingly honest interview with IGN, Holland revealed that he lives with ADHD (Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder) and dyslexia, two common neurodevelopmental conditions that are often misunderstood and underrepresented in mainstream media.

Speaking about his new LEGO short film Never Stop Playing, Holland reflected on how his neurodivergent brain interacts with creativity, and how play became a survival tool.

“I have ADHD and I’m dyslexic,” Holland shared. “And I find sometimes when someone gives me a blank canvas, it can be slightly intimidating. And sometimes you are met with those challenges when developing a character.”

The blank canvas isn’t always inviting

For many neurodivergent people, a “blank canvas” is a source of anxiety.

Creative expression often comes not from a lack of structure, but from working with structure and against expectations.

In his role as LEGO’s Playmaker, Holland embodies a whirlwind of characters: from a grumpy CEO to a wide-eyed toddler, highlighting the transformative power of play, even in adulthood. The short film is both cute and quietly radical. Especially when framed by Holland’s lived experience.

“Any way that you can, as a young person or as an adult, interact with something that forces you to be creative and forces you to think outside the box… just promotes healthy creativity,” he added.

From dyslexia diagnosis to LEGO death stars

Tom was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of seven and moved to a private school for better academic support. Even as one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, he still faces online criticism for typos and grammar mistakes, a reminder of how relentless ableism can be, especially for public figures.

And yet, he chooses vulnerability. He chooses to talk. To name his experience. To laugh about building LEGO dinosaur scenes to avoid doing dishes as a kid. To reminisce about piecing together a 3,800-brick LEGO Death Star with Spider-Man: Homecoming co-star Jacob Batalon, an offscreen moment of friendship that mirrored the onscreen one.

That’s what makes Holland’s voice matter. Not because he’s flawless, but because he isn’t.

Family, play, and the joy of building differently

The LEGO film also features cameos by Tom’s real-life brothers Harry and Sam, who play faux reporters in a cheeky nod to sibling rivalry and shared nostalgia.

For Holland, the project wasn’t just about promoting creativity. It was about reconnecting with family and honouring the imaginative chaos of their childhoods.

“We grew up playing [LEGO] together,” he said. “It gets people off screens. It gets people talking to one another.”

That message hits differently for neurodivergent people, many of whom find regulation, connection, and identity through tactile play, especially in a world that often pathologises difference and demands conformity.

Why representation like this matters

In a culture that still treats ADHD as laziness and dyslexia as intellectual failure, public figures talking openly about these conditions is crucial. Especially when those figures aren’t framed as “inspirational,” but as human.

When neurodivergent people see themselves reflected not just in diagnoses but in the joy of building, failing, laughing, and trying again, it chips away at shame. It pushes back against stereotypes. It expands what it means to succeed.

Tom Holland didn’t have to talk about his learning disabilities. But he did. And in doing so, he’s helping reframe neurodivergence not as a deficit, but as a different kind of brilliance.

At Much Much Spectrum, we believe stories like these are foundational to a comprehensive understanding of neurodiversity. Because every time a celebrity names their diagnosis, every time a kid realises they’re not alone, every time play is treated as essential and not extra, the world gets a little more liveable for neurodivergent people.