Tom Holland has confirmed he is set to play Fred Astaire in an upcoming biopic. 

On Sunday, the actor (age 25) confirmed that he was playing Fred Astaire. This script was sent in about a week before. The script arrived a week ago. I have yet to read it. I haven’t received it yet.

It was first reported last month that Tom, who started his career playing dancer Billy Elliot on the West End stage from 2008 to 2010, had scooped the role, when GQ revealed the role and touted Tom as ‘superhero of the year.’ 

A biopic about Fred Rogers, a Hollywood icon who had a long career that spanned 76 years, and many box office hits with Ginger Rogers, is a lot to do. The movie will also delve into his personal life no doubt, including losing his first wife 1954 and bringing up their kids. 

Confirmed: Tom Holland confirmed he is set to play Fred Astaire in an upcoming biopic as he spoke to reporters  in London on Sunday (pictured)

Biopic: The actor, 25, confirmed the news to reporters on Sunday at a London screening of his new movie Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is hitting theaters later this month (Fred Astaire pictured in 1936)

Confirmed: Tom Holland has confirmed he is set to play Fred Astaire in an upcoming biopic

Tom said that Amy Pascal is a Spider-Man producer and shared the script with him. He also added, “She FaceTimed” me before. He was just in the tub. 

Variety was informed by Sony Pictures that the Fred Astaire biopic development is still in its earliest stages. The film has no writer, director or title.

It has long been reported that there is a clause in Astaire’s will banning film portrayals of his life, after he said: ‘However much they offer me—and offers come in all the time—I shall not sell. This clause exists because it is not my desire for my life to be misinterpreted. 

Fans of Fred and Tom had mixed reactions to the news. Some praised the decision while others criticized it. Twitter users swamped the site with comments after Tom made his big announcement. 

The critics wrote: “There’s no way Tom Holland could dance as Fred Astaire.” Let me know who is going to play Ginger Rogers. I’m not sure how I feel about Tom Holland playing Fred Astaire. [Timothée Chalamet]…

‘If Tom Holland is gonna play Fred Astaire, then boy does he have his work cut out for him… Tom Holland as Fred Astaire weird choice but okay whatever, the real question who’s going to be playing Ginger.’ 

Lovely:  There is much to cover in a biopic of Hollywood legend Fred, who enjoyed a career spanning 76 years and a raft of box-office hits, many of them with his most famous dance partner Ginger Rogers (Astaire, pictured in 1936)

Lovely:  There is much to cover in a biopic of Hollywood legend Fred, who enjoyed a career spanning 76 years and a raft of box-office hits, many of them with his most famous dance partner Ginger Rogers (Astaire, pictured in 1936)

Support: There was mixed reaction among fans of both Tom and Fred, with some lauding the decision and others panning the idea as Twitter users flooded the microblogging site to weigh in

Support: There was mixed reaction among fans of both Tom and Fred, with some lauding the decision and others panning the idea as Twitter users flooded the microblogging site to weigh in

Backers posted, in the meanwhile, that they were so thrilled about the !…. Tom Holland will be playing Fred Astaire. That’s just perfect! When I tell you, I can’t WAIT for Tom Holland to play Fred Astaire!!! He is 12… What a perfect casting! 

Astaire, born Frederick Austerlitz, enjoyed a career spanning 76 years and a slew of hits, many with dance partner Ginger. The son of a brewer from Nebraska, Fred was performing with his sister Adele from the age of five, before he headed to Hollywood in 1932 and formed one of Tinseltown’s great partnerships – Fred and Ginger. 

Flying Down To Rio, 1933 was their breakthrough movie. Nine more films were made with Ginger in the same year, including Top Hat which received four Oscar nominations. Fred, at the peak of his fame in the 1930s, was so valuable to Hollywood that he had $1 million insurance on his legs.

Following Flying down to Rio where Gene Raymond and Dolores del Rio played second fiddle, they appeared in The Gay Divorcee together the next year.

The films that followed were 1935’s Top Hat and 1936’s Follow the Fleet. 1936’s Swing Time, 1937’s Shall We Dance, and 1936’s Swing Time. In his later years, he focused on dramatic acting, and won a Golden Globe nomination for his supporting turn in Stanley Kramer’s nuclear war drama On the Beach in 1959. 

Loving  it: Supporters meanwhile wrote: 'I am so, so, so excited about this!... Tom Holland is playing Fred Astaire? Umm that's perfect... When I tell you, I can’t WAIT for Tom Holland to play Fred Astaire!!! This is him at 12'

Loving  it: Supporters meanwhile wrote: ‘I am so, so, so excited about this!… Tom Holland will be playing Fred Astaire. It’s so perfect! When I tell you, I can’t WAIT for Tom Holland to play Fred Astaire!!! Here he is at 12’

The big reveal: Despite a famous clause in Astaire's will to stop depictions of his life, Tom has revealed he is tackling the role (pictured in 1942)

Excitement: Fans revealed they were excited for the unveiling

Big reveal: Tom revealed that he will be taking on the role despite Astaire’s famous clause refusing to allow depictions of him life (Astaire, pictured left, Tom, shown right, Sunday).

His only Oscar nomination was for Best Supporting Actor in 1974’s disaster film The Towering Inferno. His film won him wins at both the Golden Globes & BAFTA.

He won a Globe as Best Comedy/Musical Actor for Three Little Words in 1950, before being called up again for  The Pleasure of His Company in 1961 and Finian’s Rainbow in 1968. An Honorary Oscar was given to him in 1950. The Cecil B. DeMille award in 1961, and Kennedy Center Honors were awarded in 1978.

Astaire also won Emmys on the TV front for An Evening with Fred Astaire (59), Astaire Time (1961) and A Family Upside Down (78).

His girl: Astaire enjoyed a career spanning 76 years and a raft of box-office hits, many of them with his dance partner Ginger Rogers (pictured in 1936's Swing Time)

His girl: Astaire enjoyed a career spanning 76 years and a raft of box-office hits, many of them with his dance partner Ginger Rogers (pictured in 1936’s Swing Time) 

His retirement announcement was made in 1946. In his new dance studio, he soon returned to work. Gene Kelly suffered an injury in Easter Parade 1948. Kelly continued making films up until 1957. 

One year later, he was once again in the limelight with one of the four TV specials that spanned the next ten decades and won numerous Emmys. Later in life, he became a straight actor, appearing in the 1974 disaster film The Towering Inferno at 75. In his final film Ghost Story in 1981. 

Fred, a Boston-born New York socialite, married Phyllis Potter, Phyllis Potter, in 1933 when she was just 25. His mother and sister objected to the union yet he determinedly pursued Phyllis for two years before she finally said yes. 

Happier times: Fred married Boston-born New York socialite and former wife of Eliphalet Nott Potter III, Phyllis Potter in 1933, when she was 25. His mother and sister objected to the union (Fred and Phyliss pictures in 1937)

Happier times: Fred married Boston-born New York socialite and former wife of Eliphalet Nott Potter III, Phyllis Potter in 1933, when she was 25. He was opposed by his mother and sister (Fred and Phyliss photos in 1937).

His love: On June 24, 1980, at the age of 81, he wed his second wife Robyn Smith, who was 45 years his junior and a jockey who rode for Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr (Fred and Robyn, pictured in 1986)

His love: On June 24, 1980, at the age of 81, he wed his second wife Robyn Smith, who was 45 years his junior and a jockey who rode for Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr (Fred and Robyn, pictured in 1986)

After a long battle with lung cancer, Phyllis died in 2005. Only 46 years old. After her death, he was able to raise their children Ava and Fred Junior as well as Peter, Phyllis’s son from her previous marriage.

After her death, he tried to quit the 1955 movie Daddy Long Legs. He even offered to pay production. But he was persuaded that if Daddy Long Legs was not made, he would be devastated. 

He married Robyn Smith on June 24, 1980 at the age 81. Robyn was 45 years younger than him and was a jockey for Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr.

 Ava previously revealed that Fred was a wonderful father, but had a bit of a temper. She said: ‘He had to take over my upbringing when I was 12 because we’d lost my mother and I became a companion to him as well as a daughter. But if somebody said something to upset me, he’d go out and try and kill them.’

Her beloved: Fred's daughter Ava is pictured with the star in 1956

Future: Ava and Fred are pictured in 1978

Her beloved: Fred’s daughter Ava (pictured left in 1956 and right in 1978) spoke in the past about her father being a good dad but having a temper 

Fred died of pneumonia on June 22, 1987, at the age of 88, after which body was buried at Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Chatsworth, California. His last request was to thank his fans for their years of support.

In 2015, Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing With The Stars judge Len Goodman made a documentary about Astaire called For The Love of Fred Astaire.

In the show, Len managed to track down Fred’s dance partner for the TV specials, Barrie Chase. Barrie was a 24-year-old session dancer on TV shows when Fred, who was then 58, plucked her from obscurity. 

The pair were seen out on dates and the rumour mill went into overdrive when they went to a party at Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart’s house together. They became lovers, but split four years later. 

Dance: He announced his retirement in 1946 and opened his own dance studio, but was soon back when he replaced the injured Gene Kelly in Easter Parade in 1948, and he continued to make films until 1957 when he announced another short-lived retirement

Dance: He announced his retirement in 1946 and opened his own dance studio, but was soon back when he replaced the injured Gene Kelly in Easter Parade in 1948, and he continued to make films until 1957 when he announced another short-lived retirement

Barrie paints a picture of a man who refused to accept second best when they performed. He recalled: ‘Just before we partnered each other for the first time, he took me aside when I was really nervous and said, ‘Don’t be nervous – just don’t make any mistakes,”. 

‘But he was heavenly to dance with. There was eye contact, there was none of this ‘I’m doing my bit and you’re doing yours’, it was two people having an experience together, which happened to be dancing…

‘His supporting arm was always exactly where it was supposed to be. You were just transported, you didn’t feel the mechanics of it.’ 

Len also spoke to Vincent Paterson, choreographer on Michael Jackson’s video for Smooth Criminal. Playing that video with clips from Fred’s 1953 movie The Band Wagon showed just how much Jackson was inspired by Fred.

Len noted: ‘Even one of Michael’s signature moves, where he pushes his hat forward on his head during a routine, was pure Astaire’.  

It was revealed that when Fred got to Hollywood, he was sent a note after his first movie audition reading: ‘Can’t sing, can’t act, going bald… but can dance a bit.’. 

This is the second Fred Astaire biopic to be happening, with another project in the works at Amazon starring Jamie Bell and Margaret Qualley as Astaire and Rogers, with that project focusing on their successful partnership.

Holland is well versed in song-and-dance, having started his career on the London stage, playing the title character in Billy Elliot on the West End from 2008 to 2010.

He went viral in 2017, dancing to a mash-up of Singin’ In the Rain from Gene Kelly, and Rihanna’s Umbrella. He’ll next be seen in the highly-anticipated video game adaptation Uncharted, which hits theaters February 18. 

Early career: Holland is well versed in song-and-dance, having started his career on the London stage, playing the title character in Billy Elliot on the West End from 2008 to 2010 (Tom pictured in February last year)

Early career: Holland is well versed in song-and-dance, having started his career on the London stage, playing the title character in Billy Elliot on the West End from 2008 to 2010 (Tom pictured in February last year) 

FRED ASTAIRE: Life of a legend  

Astaire, born Frederick Austerlitz, enjoyed a career spanning 76 years and a slew of hits, many with dance partner Ginger. The son of a brewer from Nebraska, Fred was performing with his sister Adele from the age of five, before he headed to Hollywood in 1932 and formed one of Tinseltown’s great partnerships – Fred and Ginger. 

They struck box-office gold with Flying Down To Rio in 1933, and nine more movies with Ginger including Top Hat, which won four Oscar nominations. At the height of his popularity in the late 30s, Fred was worth so much to the Hollywood studios he had his legs insured for $1 million.

After Flying Down to Rio, where they played second fiddle to Dolores del Rio and Gene Raymond, the following year they starred together in The Gay Divorcee.

Their subsequent films, including 1935’s Top Hat, 1936’s Follow the Fleet, 1936’s Swing Time and Shall We Dance in 1937. In his later years, he focused on dramatic acting, and won a Golden Globe nomination for his supporting turn in Stanley Kramer’s nuclear war drama On the Beach in 1959. 

He earned his sole Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor for the disaster flick The Towering Inferno in 1974. The movie also brought him victories at the Golden Globes and BAFTA.

He won a Globe as Best Comedy/Musical Actor for Three Little Words in 1950, before being called up again for  The Pleasure of His Company in 1961 and Finian’s Rainbow in 1968. He received an Honorary Oscar in 1950, the Cecil B. DeMille prize in 1961 and the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978.

On the TV side, Astaire won Emmys for An Evening with Fred Astaire in 1959 and Astaire Time in 1961, and the TV movie A Family Upside Down in 1978.

He announced his retirement in 1946 and opened his own dance studio, but was soon back when he replaced the injured Gene Kelly in Easter Parade in 1948, and he continued to make films until 1957 when he announced another short-lived retirement. 

A year later he was back in the spotlight with the first of four TV specials made over the next ten years that won multiple Emmys. He turned straight actor later in life, appearing in disaster movie The Towering Inferno in 1974 at the age of 75, in his last film, Ghost Story, in 1981, and died in 1987 aged 88.

Fred married Boston-born New York socialite and former wife of Eliphalet Nott Potter III, Phyllis Potter in 1933, when she was 25. His mother and sister objected to the union yet he determinedly pursued Phyllis for two years before she finally said yes. 

Phyllis passed away after battling lung cancer in 1954. She was just 46. Her death left him to bring up their two children, Ava and Fred Junior, as well as Phyllis’s son from her former marriage, Peter.

He was left devastated by her passing and attempted to drop out of the 1955 film Daddy Long Legs – even offering to pay production, but he was then persuaded to stay. 

On June 24, 1980, at the age of 81, his second wife Robyn Smith, who was 45 years his junior and a jockey who rode for Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr. She appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on July 31, 1972.

Ava had previously shared that Fred was a great father but had some temper issues. According to her, he had to provide my education when I was 12, after I lost my mother. I also became his companion and a friend. He would go outside and attempt to kill anyone who said anything that could upset him.