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The Crowded Room series is one of Tom Holland’s most ambitious productions to date, with him serving as both producer and star, and it’s part of a true criminal story that’s difficult to believe.
The series, produced by Academy Award winner Akiva Goldsman, follows Danny Sullivan (played by Holland), a man who is arrested after a shooting in New York in the 1970s and is subjected to interrogation, where an expert named Rya (Amanda Seyfried) tries to figure out who Danny is and what drove him to commit the crime.
Rya gradually realizes that Danny’s case is far more intricate than meets the eye, and that his background is filled with dark secrets, hints, and complicated situations that shaped him into the guy he is today, and that pushed him into the criminal life.
The most intriguing aspect of The Crowded Room is that it does not tell you everything at once; instead, it gradually reveals the truth behind what happened, which turns out to be more surprising than we could have imagined, but the true charm of the story is in the interpretations. de Holland, Emmy Rossum, who plays his mother, and Seyfried.
Prior to the series launch, Rossum and Holland provided information on their characters, the mother-son dynamic, and, in Holland’s case, what it required to break free from such an emotionally demanding figure.
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Danny Sullivan’s affections for Tom Holland
“I was conflicted because, when I read the book and watched the documentary, I knew nothing about this problem or what Danny was going through; I had not experienced any trauma in my life that would have pushed me to have a reaction like his, so I wanted to understand and empathize with someone who had been through something similar to what he went through, even after seeing what he does in that scene.” That first sequence is one of the strangest things I’ve ever done; we literally filmed it here in New York, and it was incredible to have my young Spider-Man fans come over to watch us film and quickly understand that it’s something very unusual, but also a lot of fun.”
Tom Holland on his arrival in 1970s New York
“It was incredible; the costume department, set design, and art department all did an outstanding job of bringing the 1970s to life.” We had to establish an authentic setting for our characters to flourish, and if we don’t accomplish that, the show doesn’t function, so I’m extremely thrilled that we were able to create that 70s New York environment. It was filthy, hazardous, and terrifying, but I think it turned out pretty nicely.”
“Danny is like a caged animal, he’s dangerous, and he’s someone who’s trapped and looking for an escape, and he can potentially see an escape in Rya (from Amanda Seyfried), so he can potentially manipulate the situation or take advantage of her kindness,” says Tom Holland. We won’t know the truth about his behavior until he realizes his own inner truth.
“We did a lot of research, we feel very responsible to do this in the most authentic way possible, I read the book by Daniel Keyes, I saw the documentary, I talked to different people about Danny’s condition and how it can manifest,” he says of his character research. You may also employ Akiva Goldsman’s experience, which helped us build the series’ twist and do the story right.”
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“And to distance myself from Danny, the first thing I did after finishing the series was cut off all my hair, which was crazy because then I went to the end of filming party and nobody recognized me.”
Tom Holland discusses the women in Danny’s life
“It’s amazing to see Danny’s relationship with these three women who are very important in his life (Rya, Candy, and Ariana), it’s interesting to see how much he trusts them and sometimes for the wrong reasons and sometimes not for the good common, but it’s difficult to talk about them because they can reveal so much.” What I can say is that these three actresses gave incredible performances; I believe Saha Lane is the best of the series, Emmy Rossum in Episode 9 is heartbreaking and mind-blowing, and I believe Amanda carries a lot of the weight and gravitas of this throughout the series; she’s so interesting as a character and as an actress, so we were lucky to have them.”
Candy (Danny’s mother) is played by Emmy Rossum
“When we meet her, she’s a 25-year-old single mother who is fun and carefree, works two jobs, is very connected, and has a deep love for her.” Her son, but we can see how time, decisions, and the tragedies surrounding her are tearing that link and closeness apart. Candy, I believe, is a generational parallel to Danny; we can see how they both survive their life, the agony they endure, and how this stems from denial, which is a very effective defense mechanism. They have secrets with one other and with themselves, and that is eventually what destroys their family. She was particularly taken with how similar they are as mother and son.
“I loved the challenge of finding her energy and physicality, working with the costumes and makeup, and discovering the essence of that time period and how that affects what Candy may or may not understand about having a child who is different and how to connect with him.” She attempts to embrace and accept her uniqueness, but she lacks the means to assist him and herself, which is the most tragic aspect.”
Candy and Danny’s chemistry, according to Emmy Rossum
“First, I had to connect with Zachary Gollinger’s younger version of Danny.” Creating that relationship and that expansive and playful security with Candy informs the relationship that my character and Tom’s later have, because they know what they lost, the pain they feel for having lost what they lost, and how that causes them to go through that transformation and become empty shells of themselves. They are scarred by the grief and failures of others around them, and that is Danny and Candy’s tale, and I believe they are nice people who end up doing awful things.”
