When it was announced that Tom Holland would play Nathan Drake in a live-action Uncharted movie, many people had questions. Holland was younger, and looked even younger, than the role is portrayed in the games, making Holland an interesting choice to play the character, one that might have some difficulties. And it seems that Holland did have some difficulty playing Nathan Drake, but it wasn’t because the game character is older, it was because the game character is cool.
Tom Holland recently told THR that the thing that was most difficult for him in playing Nathan Drake on the screen wasn’t the fact that he was playing a different version than the character, or all the wild stunts he would need to do. What was difficult was playing a character who is so cool, because Holland doesn’t usually play those sorts of characters, The actor explains…
One of the most difficult things about this character was playing 'the cool guy.’ Historically, I've always sort of played the outsider who doesn't particularly have many friends and isn't the cool kid. So Nathan Drake is the complete opposite, and that was something that took me a while to get used to and feel comfortable doing.
It’s certainly true that Tom Holland doesn’t usually play the cool guy. He can be pretty cool as Spider-Man but even then you get the feeling the wall-crawler is frantically making it up as he goes along. Peter Parker certainly is never the cool guy, even in a school full of really smart people.
Even when Tom Holland isn’t playing a “nerdy” character, he tends to play outsiders in movies like Cherry or The Devil All the Time. These are characters that frequently have trouble finding a comfortable place in society.
Nathan Drake is never at a loss for a good quip right before he punches a dude in the face. While he also is somebody who frequently is making it up as he goes along, he never looks like he’s lost control of the situation. It’s one of the reasons so many fans wanted to see Nathan Fillion play Nathan Drake. The actor's own persona, and the characters he often plays, were very “cool” in a similar way to the character.
To be fair, the Uncharted movie is very much an origin story for Nathan Drake and there are parts of the trailer that make it look like Nathan Drake may be in over his head, and not so much the “cool guy” of the games. At the same time, one assumes that by the end of the film he will be closer to the Nathan Drake we know.
After all the delays the Uncharted movie is finally almost here. Get ready by checking out everything we know about the project. We’ll get to see just how cool Tom Holland can be February 18.
