Tom Holland has been quite open about his ADHD and dyslexia, the latter of which he was diagnosed with before he was 10. Having either can be difficult for both yourself and those around you. But for Holland, he has pressed through and found ways in which to continue working and living as he chooses – and most recently, he has found inspiration in the world of LEGO, recently appearing in a short film titled Never Stop Playing.
In Never Stop Playing, Tom Holland is seen on a film set where he stops production so he can challenge the pseudo-movie’s message that people need to “stop playing.” But why would anyone do such a thing, especially if it can help them? The two-minute short offers a fast jolt of inspiration, not just in the characters and for the viewers but the star himself. As he told IGN, “I have ADHD and I’m dyslexic, and I find sometimes when someone gives me a blank canvas that it can be slightly intimidating. And sometimes you are met with those challenges when developing a character…So 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 and make changes that might be in an instruction manual or might not be in an instruction manual just promotes healthy creativity. And I think that the more we do that sort of stuff, the better.” You can watch the short – which actually has cameos from Holland’s brothers – here.
Tom Holland was also quoted on LEGO’s official write-up of Never Stop Playing as saying, in part, “I hope that this short film I did with the LEGO Group demonstrates the idea that to play is a way of expressing who we are no matter what age! For me, it’s always been an important element of exploring the world and embracing the environment I’m in. Whether I’m on set or just hanging out with my brother and mates, I try to bring an element of play into everything I do.”
Those are some uplifting words from Holland, who, while he might seem like he’s on top of the world, is still going through struggles that so many others do: it’s estimated that around two million adults in Britain (Holland’s home country) have been diagnosed with ADHD, while around 10% of its population has dyslexia.
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