How Tom Holland Found Out Spider-Man Co-Star Jake Gyllenhaal Was Producing The Devil All The Time

Tom Holland in Devil All The Time
(Image credit: (Netflix))

Anyone else just check out the latest Netflix hit The Devil All The Time and spot Jake Gyllenhaal over in the credits? Since there were two Marvel stars at the center of Antonio Campos’ period drama Spider-Man’s Tom Holland and Captain America’s Sebastian Stan, I think I'm hardwired to watch the credits roll. The new release is completely different from an MCU film, but there is a secret connection in Gyllenhaal’s producing credit. But no, it's not on purpose.

Tom Holland and Jake Gyllenhaal became best buds on the set of Spider-Man: Far From Home. They had such a great time together as Spider-Man and Mysterio, that they often ended up cracking up during takes, really fueling the film’s blooper reel. Here’s Holland explaining their The Devil All The Time link:

Yeah, funny story. When Jake and I were working together on Spidey 2, he was asking me what I was going to do next. I pitched him this movie and he was like, 'Wait a minute, I’m producing that movie.' And I was like, Well, I’m in that movie.' I guess someone had like messed up in the email and didn't tell us that each of us were part of the film.

Ok, so I’m pretty sure this proves those two are Hollywood soulmates. As Holland told EW, he signed on to the film before being aware that Jake Gyllenhaal was involved, and his co-star had no idea the Spider-Man actor was set to play the lead, Arvin Russell. Upon seeing the credits, one would imagine the pair tag teamed it together after networking on Far From Home, but it turns out it's an old-fashioned coincidence.

Jake Gyllenhaal has producing in his blood, since his mother, Naomi Foner, was a producer on the long-running series The Electric Company. The actor started producing some of the films he famously starred in including End of Watch, Nightcrawler and Stronger. He also has a producer’s credit on the recent critically acclaimed, summer horror release Relic and a ton of upcoming movies he’s not part of in an acting capacity.

It’s cool to see Gyllenhaal branch out with this behind-the-scenes work and the fact that Tom Holland got to star in one of his projects is just too good. Here’s hoping the pair continue to work together in the near future. The Devil All The Time is definitely a sharp turn for the 24-year-old actor that shows the actor can hold his own in the dramatic sphere. Holland talked about why the flick appealed to him here:

As an actor, I’m always looking for things to challenge me. I’m always looking for characters that are different and diverse and unique. I’m also looking for a director who I think can put me in a position I haven’t been in before. So, I guess for me it was the challenge of doing a different accent, playing the rural class kid, a period film, a new director. Everything ticked the boxes for me.

Tom Holland was actually a huge fan of Antonio Campos’ 2016 film Christine and was interested in working with him after seeing it. The actor and director met two years before production kicked off on The Devil All The Time. The Netflix release tells the interconnected story of characters around Knockemstiff, Ohio after WWII.

Holland shares the screen with Robert Pattinson’s corrupt southern preacher, Sebastian Stan’s police officer, Arvin’s parents played by Bill Skarsgård and Mia Wasikowska, along with Eliza Scanlan and Haley Bennett as his sisters. Check out what critics think about it as well as CinemaBlend’s review of The Devil All The Time. Stay tuned here for more movies and TV news.

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.