Jon Bernthal has spoken about sharing the screen with close friend Tom Holland in two major projects arriving this summer, saying he remains “so in awe” of everything Holland has achieved without losing sight of who he is.
During an appearance on Today on Wednesday, July 15, the 49-year-old discussed teaming up again with Holland, 30, in both Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. The Odyssey opened in theaters on Friday, July 17, while Spider-Man: Brand New Day is scheduled to arrive on Friday, July 31.
For Bernthal, the back-to-back projects stood out as a major personal and professional highlight, and he praised Holland for keeping the same grounded nature despite his level of fame.
“Mostly for me it was two back-to-back movies that I got to do with my friend Tom Holland,” Bernthal told PEOPLE.
“To now walk on to this set and see all that he’s accomplished and he still leads with grace, he’s still a family-first guy. He’s in love.”
He explained that their friendship stretches back more than 10 years, long before either of them reached their current level of recognition. “I’ve known him since he was 17,” Bernthal said. “He’s as good a man as he is an actor. I’m just so in awe of him and proud of him, and I love seeing the man that he’s become.”
Their connection also overlaps with key moments in both of their careers. Bernthal said they recorded audition tapes together in Ireland for The Punisher and Spider-Man when Holland was still a teenager. Holland has also said in recent interviews that Bernthal helped him with an emotional scene during a “screen test” era that helped shape their early Marvel careers.
The actors first appeared together in the 2017 historical action movie Pilgrimage, and their friendship has continued ever since. Now, they are sharing the screen again in a rare pair of 2026 releases that connect their long-running professional relationship.
Bernthal’s remark about Holland being ‘in love’ follows confirmation from the Spider-Man actor in June that he had married longtime partner and co-star Zendaya. The news came after months of speculation that began when she was seen wearing a diamond ring at the 2025 Golden Globes.
In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which arrives on Friday, July 31, Bernthal returns as the Punisher, while Holland is back as Peter Parker and Zendaya reprises MJ.
The three also feature in The Odyssey, now in theaters, where Bernthal plays Menelaus, Holland takes on Telemachus, and Zendaya portrays Athena.
The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan, has drawn attention for its star-packed ensemble and for being among the director’s first films shot with brand-new IMAX film technology. The movie is part of a busy summer for Holland and Bernthal, who have been promoting two very different big-screen projects at nearly the same time.
Elsewhere in the interview, Bernthal also shared that the look he adopted for The Odyssey — including a shaved head and a fuller beard — was not exactly popular at home with his wife, Erin Angle.
“[She was] not a fan of the beard at all,” Bernthal said. “That was a big beard too. No bueno in my home.”