Tom Holland 'Got Really Scared' Meeting Willem Dafoe On Spider-Man: No Way Home Set

Spider-Man is commonly regarded as one of the most relatable heroes ever created — and, you know what, I'm not sure anyone embodies this concept any better than Tom Holland does. The popular actor simply can't keep a secret no matter how hard he tries. He's also just as passionate about Spider-Man as any lifelong fan is, and he is apparently scared to death of unexpectedly coming face-to-face with famous actors. Who among us can't see a bit of ourselves in him? 

Fresh off of revealing just how chaotic the production of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" was, Holland actually showed up in-person to help hype up the recent fan event for the release of the latest trailer. Although the main star of the show was obviously the extended look at even more reveals from "No Way Home." Holland couldn't help but tell some amusing stories about his experience on-set, one of which concerned his very first meeting with Willem Dafoe incognito as Norman Osborn.

A crowd of lucky fans packed into a Los Angeles theater earlier this week to witness the unveiling of new footage from "Spider-Man: No Way Home," and were surprised by the appearance of the Spider-Man actor himself. Treating it as a sort of miniature version of Comic-Con, Tom Holland jumped on stage to show his appreciation to the hardcore fans who showed up in the flesh for the trailer. Those in attendance were treated to a funny story of how Holland first came across Green Goblin actor Willem Dafoe.

As he explained (via Screen Rant), many of the (at the time) unknown cameos required a high degree of secrecy, necessitating that specific stars had to walk around fully covered up to keep their identities and superhero outfits away from prying eyes. Holland being Holland, naturally, he ended up literally bumping into the Green Goblin himself, Willem Dafoe.

"There was actually a funny story about when I met Willem for the first time, because obviously at that time all of the villains in the film, it was a huge secret that they were in the film, so they would walk around set with these cloaks on. And, naturally, you know, these guys are very excited to be coming back and bringing these roles back to life, but they came to set a week before they started shooting to just see what it was like, meet Jon, meet myself, hang out on set and have a good time.

"And I just sort of bumped into this guy in a cloak and was like, 'Watch out, mate.' And he took his hood off and I almost, like, got really scared. I was like, 'Oh sh*t, the Goblin's here!' But he was lovely, he was really wonderful and a real joy to work with."

As intimidating as it must be to meet Willem Dafoe, personally I'm here for more roles like "The Florida Project" where he gets to make shameless dad jokes and show how pleasant he seems to be. Sometimes actors just have a face (and a last name) that screams "villain," but fingers crossed "No Way Home" offers a twist where Dafoe's Norman Osborn finally learns the error of his ways and rides off into the multiversal sunset. Unlikely? Probably. Fun to think about anyway? You bet.

"Spider-Man: No Way Home" will come to theaters on December 17, 2021.