If you somehow needed more reasons to adore and/or appreciate the man, Tom Holland is clearly not afraid to be vulnerable about his struggles.
In a new appearance on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast, Spider-Man himself revealed that he’s never hosted Saturday Night Live for one very specific reason: his dyslexia.
“I’m just so petrified at the concept of trying to read [cue cards],” Holland said. “And then they change.”
When Poehler (who was an SNL cast member from 2001 to 2008) said she’s certain other dyslexics have hosted before, Holland explained how he manages his dyslexia during his day-to-day work.
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“I can read fine,” Holland said. “When I have to read out loud, it becomes a kind of mental block. And I can freeze. So for me, my worst day of work is the read-through. I will really try and highlight everything and learn my lines ahead of time. So I’m more kind of skimming it.”
Holland added that while he doesn’t mind looking un-serious, he might be afraid of throwing off the show somehow.
“They’ve asked me a few times to do it,” Holland said. “The truth is I’m just really scared at the prospect. I love the show and I love the idea of having fun and making a fool of myself in such a creative way. It’s just the cue cards.”
Toward the end of the segment about SNL, Poehler offered up this gem of encouragement: “You have to remember there have been people who have hosted fully on drugs. So I think you can do it.” To which Holland replied, “And who are those people?” See, he’s just like the rest of us!
In addition to dyslexia, Holland says he’s lived with ADHD since he was a young child. He told IGN in September 2025 that he’ll often use instructional tools and other approaches, including LEGO, in developing characters and preparing for a role.
“I find sometimes when someone gives me a blank canvas that it can be slightly intimidating,” Holland said at the time. “And sometimes you are met with those challenges when developing a character.”
He added, “So any way that you can, as a young person or as an adult, interact with something that forces you to be creative and forces you to think outside the box and make changes that might be in an instruction manual or might not be in an instruction manual just promotes healthy creativity.”
Holland isn’t alone, obviously. The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity says that “dyslexia affects 20 percent of the population.” That’s 80 to 90 percent of all people with learning disabilities.
If Holland were to ever appear on SNL, now we would be great timing-wise. On July 17th, Holland will appear as Telemachus in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. Then, on July 31st, he reprises his role as Ol’ Web-Head himself with Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Check out the full episode below.
