Spider-Man co-stars turned real-life partners Zendaya and Tom Holland will soon be sharing the screen together again in Christopher Nolan’s new film. In the meantime, Vanity Fair got Zendaya to talk a little bit about what acting with her partner is like for its 2024 Hollywood issue.
It’s “not really” weird at all, she said. “It’s actually strangely comfortable. It’s like second nature, if anything. You feel extra safe with the person you’re acting beside. I love working with him. He’s so talented, and so passionate about what he does. He always gives things one thousand percent, even if he’s absolutely worn down. I really appreciate that about him. It feels pretty normal. That’s how we met. Literally, at a chemistry read.”
Zendaya did not get into the details of their relationship outside of work. She did, however, give her honest reaction to being the subject of many memes online.
“Man, sometimes people do take the funniest screenshots of me,” the former Disney Channel star admitted. “I can’t help it. I don’t know if it’s a Disney thing or just a personality thing, because I think I was expressive like this even when I was a kid. And I don’t know, I laugh big. I have a big laugh. I open my mouth real wide when I laugh. So there’s a lot of those. And I use my face. If it brings people joy, then I love it. Screenshot away.
“I will say I did grow up watching [fellow former Disney star] Raven-Symoné, who I think is one of the queens of facial expression,” Zendaya said, adding, “It’s in me. I grew up like this. She was so phenomenal. What I appreciate about her comedy in that show is you can watch it now and it holds up. My little niece is…is she eight now? I had her watch Cheetah Girls for the first time the other day.”
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.