Tom Holland's Marvel Bonus For Avengers Took The 'Smugness' Out Of This Hollywood Veteran

Tom Holland's immense "Avengers" payday humbled Tom Hollander — who accidentally received the "Spider-Man" actor's paycheck. 

Sometimes, Hollywood can be extremely funny, especially to those with similar-sounding names. British actor Tom Hollander has been a consistent force on the big and small screen since the '90s, having appeared in major hits like "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Pride and Prejudice," and "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation." 

But the actor doesn't have the same name recognition as Tom Holland, who is best known for starring as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While speaking with Seth Meyers, Hollander acknowledged how the two actors often get mixed up — to the point where Hollander actually once received Holland's "Avengers" bonus by accident. "People in the accounts department of my agency got confused. We were with the same agency, briefly," Hollander said. 

The actor explained how he found out about the mishap while checking his phone during the intermission of a play. At the time, Hollander was feeling proud of himself for having starred in a BBC production that was going to have paid his bills for the next year. The e-mail he mistakenly received revealed that Holland got a pretty sizable bonus check for the Marvel production. "It was not his salary, it was his first box office bonus. Not the whole box office, the first one," the actor explained. "It was more money than I've ever — it was a seven-figure sum ... He was 20 or something."

For Hollander, it was a humbling experience: "So, my feeling of smugness ... disappeared very quickly. But that's showbiz." 

One can't help but appreciate Tom Hollander's pain in that situation. It's bad enough that Hollander has to share a similar name as the "Avengers" actor, but to also have Tom Holland's financial accomplishments rubbed in his face? That's brutal. But for Hollander, this confusion seems to be a constant that he can't escape. In his chat with Seth Meyers, he candidly opened up about how people are often excited to meet him — only to realize he isn't Peter Parker. 

"Yes, it's been very difficult. Because, you know, I was here first," Hollander said about the whole situation. "In non-visual contexts, I am mistaken for him all the time. So, like, talking to utility companies, they just [go], 'And what's your name?' And they go, 'Tom Holland?'"

While Hollander has had to deal with this sort of nonsense in the last few years, it should be noted that he's a pretty great actor — one who consistently puts out solid performances in whatever medium he decides to play in. He's been in countless big-budget productions that have generated billions of dollars at the box office, like the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, where he plays East India Trading Company leader Cutler Beckett. Despite his wide-ranging filmography, Hollander hasn't worked with Holland as of yet — here's hoping that manifests sometime soon.