Tom Hollands First Performance in This Survival Movie Is His Best Work Yet

The Big Picture

• Tom Holland's first feature film role as Lucas in The Impossible is widely regarded as his best work yet, showcasing his impressive range and emotional depth.
• The Impossible is based on the true story of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and follows the survival and fight for the reunion of the Bennett family.
• Holland's performance as Lucas in The Impossible earned him accolades and demonstrated his ability to convey raw emotion and empathy, even at a young age.

Whether he’s swinging from webs as Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or battling vicious inner demons in Cherry and The Devil All the Time, Tom Holland is constantly reminding us that he’s one of the best young actors in the business. The British star continues to diversify his repertoire and show off his extensive range, most recently with his turn as Romeo in the London stage production of Romeo & Juliet. However, even as he racks up an impressive resume as a prominent leading man, Holland’s first feature film role as 12-year-old Lucas in 2012’s The Impossible still stands out as perhaps his best work yet.

The Impossible

The story of a tourist family in Thailand caught in the destruction and chaotic aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Tom Holland’s Film Debut Is Based on a True Story

The Impossible is based on the true story of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and centers on the survival of the Bennett family, a representation of the real Belón-Alvarez family that, against all odds, survived the deadly natural disaster. Tom Holland plays Lucas, the eldest of Maria (Naomi Watts) and Henry’s (Ewan McGregor) three young sons. The family is on Christmas vacation in Thailand when they find themselves stuck in the devastation of a massive tsunami, and The Impossible follows their fight to survive and find their way back to one another in the wake of unimaginable tragedy.

When the movie starts off, Lucas is a typical sullen tween, annoyed by his younger brothers’ antics and pouting that his mom won’t let him drink soda. Nevertheless, Lucas has an obvious fondness for his family, and Holland quickly sheds his mopey facade to goof around with his brothers and enjoy his vacation.The Impossible even lets young Holland show off his Spider-Man-level gymnastic skills as Lucas flips joyously on the beach on Christmas morning.

The real heavy lifting, however, comes soon after when the tsunami hits on Boxing Day. Lucas and his brothers are playing in the resort’s pool surrounded by other kids, turning a pleasant image into a horrifying one once we realize what’s about to transpire. As the air swells around them and wildlife flees the scene, the hotel guests are stock-still as the Earth begins to tremble. Lucas cries out for his dad in terror as a gargantuan wave approaches and immediately wipes out the entire resort. In one particularly quick but strong moment, Lucas dives into the pool to avoid the wreckage, and Holland makes us truly believe his terror as he flails and screams under the water. The idyllic landscape is demolished in seconds, and Maria and Lucas emerge from the water sometime later and struggle to reach each other against the unrelenting onslaught of waves and debris.

Tom Holland Was Just 14 Years Old When He Shot ‘The Impossible’

Watts and Holland show off some of their most impressive and heart-wrenching work to date, as the mother and son sob in horror and scream out for one another, not knowing if they’ll reunite in time. Throughout the rest of The Impossible, Holland continues to hold his own against Watts (even in what is arguably one of Naomi Watts' best performances) as he goes from a regular kid to one hardened by intense trauma, determined to keep his mother alive. Once they're rescued by some locals and brought to a hospital, Lucas watches his mother cling to life, totally distraught, but quietly determined, to help other survivors reunite with their families until he is miraculously reunited with his own. The shot of a sobbing Lucas clinging to his little brothers (Samuel Joslin and Oaklee Pendergast) as the music swells might be the most emotional scene in the whole movie, and Holland's flood of relief and joy as the trauma of the day washes over him is one of the most powerful moments in the film.

Holland revealed in an interview that shooting the tsunami scene was (unsurprisingly) very physically demanding and that at times the acting came naturally as he was genuinely afraid and was able to use his surroundings to influence his performance. Despite this, nobody can deny that as he struggles to stay afloat and angrily takes his fear out on his mother, Holland demonstrates a caliber of performance that many grown actors would envy. What makes this all the more impressive is that Tom Holland was only 14 years old when The Impossible was shot.

'The Impossible' Highlighted Tom Holland's Emotional Range

Already an experienced stage performer at age 13 and coming off of the success of Billy Elliot: The Musical, Holland was sought out by The Impossible director J.A. Bayona, who saw an interview with Holland on YouTube and was impressed with the young actor. Bayona went to London to meet with him, and according to Holland, within 6 or 7 weeks he was in Spain shooting the movie’s big wave scene. In 2013, Holland told The Hollywood Reporter that he struggled to transition from stage to screen, having come straight from London’s West End with no previous experience acting on camera. While the relationships he built with the cast and crew on The Impossible were similar to those he made in the theater, acting in front of cameras rather than a live audience was an adjustment for the young star. Obviously, Holland caught on quickly, as his performance earned him a Young Artist Award, as well as numerous other accolades.

Since his acclaimed performance in The Impossible, Tom Holland has gone on to star in a variety of projects from intense, dark thrillers to the more upbeat Spider-Man movies, and always delivers a stunning performance. What was especially significant about his first role, however, was that even at such a young age, Holland understood the significance of the story he was telling, and knew that he had a responsibility to tell it honestly.

Holland’s performance as Lucas in The Impossible might have put him on the map as a young star to watch, but it also showed the teenager’s capacity for empathy and humility, which has undoubtedly continued to serve him as he commits himself to more emotionally demanding projects with complex protagonists. Even at 14 years old, Tom Holland showed us that he already had a full actor’s toolbox teeming with boundless potential, and we’re happy to report that ten years into his big screen career, the beloved Brit clearly hasn’t lost his touch.

The Impossible is available to watch on Netflix in the U.S.

Watch on Netflix

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