White LotusStar Tom Hollander Recalls Accidentally Receiving Tom Holland’s 'Astonishing'AvengersBonus Check

Mar. 15, 2025

Tom Hollander (left) and Tom Holland.Photo:Arturo Holmes/WireImage; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagicTwo letters can make all the difference — just ask Tom Hollander!The White Lotusactor revealed duringan episodeofLate Night with Seth Meyerson Monday that his agency once accidentally sent himTom Holland’s paycheck for his work on one of theAvengersmovies.“It was a terrible moment. I went to see my friend who was doing theater in England for 300 pounds a week, you know, but doing great work, [Anton] Chekhov, and I sat smugly in the audience having just done a BBC show for 30 grand or something, which was, you know, going to get me through the next year or so,” Hollander recalled. “And I was thinking, ‘Well this is marvelous. I’m very prosperous, but my good friend Peter is doing this great play, and I’m going to go afterwards and see him and slightly patronize him and say how wonderful it was.'“But Hollander was in for a rude awakening once he checked his email on his phone during the intermission for his friend’s play.Tom Hollander in New York City in January 2024.Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM"I thought I’d check my emails, and I got an email from the agency saying, ‘Payment advice slip: Your first box office bonus forThe Avengers,'” Hollander said, adding, “I don’t think I’m inThe Avengers.'““It was an astonishing amount of money,” the actor added. “And it was not his salary, it was his first box office bonus. Not the whole box office, the first one. And it was more money than I’ve ever — it was a seven-figure sum. … He was 20 or something. So my feeling of smugness that you remember I had in the first-half [of my friend’s play] disappeared very quickly.“The actor explained that while he’s never mistaken on the street for the actor, who plays Spider-Man inAvengers: Endgame, their similar last names continues to cause confusion.“In non-visual contexts, I am mistaken for him all the time,” he continued. “So like, talking to utility companies, they just, ‘What’s your name?’ And they go, ‘Tom Holland?’ Because they’ve heard ‘Tom Holland.’ Tom Holland? I go, ‘No, it’s Tom Hollander.'“Tom Holland in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ in 2018.Walt Disney Co./ Everett CollectionHollander said things get worse when people expect to see Holland but get him instead.“I’m introduced to somebody’s very, very excited, then confused, then disappointed children,” he said. “They go, ‘My children are so excited to meet you.’ And I go, ‘Are they, though?’ … They come out and they go, ‘Where is he? Where is he?’ And they go, ‘No, no.'“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Hollander played Quentin in season 2 ofThe White Lotus. He’s also set to portray Truman Capote inFeud: Capote Vs. The Swans, premiering on FX Jan. 31.

Tom Hollander (left) and Tom Holland.Photo:Arturo Holmes/WireImage; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Arturo Holmes/WireImage; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Two letters can make all the difference — just ask Tom Hollander!The White Lotusactor revealed duringan episodeofLate Night with Seth Meyerson Monday that his agency once accidentally sent himTom Holland’s paycheck for his work on one of theAvengersmovies.“It was a terrible moment. I went to see my friend who was doing theater in England for 300 pounds a week, you know, but doing great work, [Anton] Chekhov, and I sat smugly in the audience having just done a BBC show for 30 grand or something, which was, you know, going to get me through the next year or so,” Hollander recalled. “And I was thinking, ‘Well this is marvelous. I’m very prosperous, but my good friend Peter is doing this great play, and I’m going to go afterwards and see him and slightly patronize him and say how wonderful it was.'“But Hollander was in for a rude awakening once he checked his email on his phone during the intermission for his friend’s play.Tom Hollander in New York City in January 2024.Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM"I thought I’d check my emails, and I got an email from the agency saying, ‘Payment advice slip: Your first box office bonus forThe Avengers,'” Hollander said, adding, “I don’t think I’m inThe Avengers.'““It was an astonishing amount of money,” the actor added. “And it was not his salary, it was his first box office bonus. Not the whole box office, the first one. And it was more money than I’ve ever — it was a seven-figure sum. … He was 20 or something. So my feeling of smugness that you remember I had in the first-half [of my friend’s play] disappeared very quickly.“The actor explained that while he’s never mistaken on the street for the actor, who plays Spider-Man inAvengers: Endgame, their similar last names continues to cause confusion.“In non-visual contexts, I am mistaken for him all the time,” he continued. “So like, talking to utility companies, they just, ‘What’s your name?’ And they go, ‘Tom Holland?’ Because they’ve heard ‘Tom Holland.’ Tom Holland? I go, ‘No, it’s Tom Hollander.'“Tom Holland in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ in 2018.Walt Disney Co./ Everett CollectionHollander said things get worse when people expect to see Holland but get him instead.“I’m introduced to somebody’s very, very excited, then confused, then disappointed children,” he said. “They go, ‘My children are so excited to meet you.’ And I go, ‘Are they, though?’ … They come out and they go, ‘Where is he? Where is he?’ And they go, ‘No, no.'“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Hollander played Quentin in season 2 ofThe White Lotus. He’s also set to portray Truman Capote inFeud: Capote Vs. The Swans, premiering on FX Jan. 31.

Two letters can make all the difference — just ask Tom Hollander!

The White Lotusactor revealed duringan episodeofLate Night with Seth Meyerson Monday that his agency once accidentally sent himTom Holland’s paycheck for his work on one of theAvengersmovies.

“It was a terrible moment. I went to see my friend who was doing theater in England for 300 pounds a week, you know, but doing great work, [Anton] Chekhov, and I sat smugly in the audience having just done a BBC show for 30 grand or something, which was, you know, going to get me through the next year or so,” Hollander recalled. “And I was thinking, ‘Well this is marvelous. I’m very prosperous, but my good friend Peter is doing this great play, and I’m going to go afterwards and see him and slightly patronize him and say how wonderful it was.'”

But Hollander was in for a rude awakening once he checked his email on his phone during the intermission for his friend’s play.

Tom Hollander in New York City in January 2024.Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM

“I thought I’d check my emails, and I got an email from the agency saying, ‘Payment advice slip: Your first box office bonus forThe Avengers,'” Hollander said, adding, “I don’t think I’m inThe Avengers.'”

“It was an astonishing amount of money,” the actor added. “And it was not his salary, it was his first box office bonus. Not the whole box office, the first one. And it was more money than I’ve ever — it was a seven-figure sum. … He was 20 or something. So my feeling of smugness that you remember I had in the first-half [of my friend’s play] disappeared very quickly.”

The actor explained that while he’s never mistaken on the street for the actor, who plays Spider-Man inAvengers: Endgame, their similar last names continues to cause confusion.

“In non-visual contexts, I am mistaken for him all the time,” he continued. “So like, talking to utility companies, they just, ‘What’s your name?’ And they go, ‘Tom Holland?’ Because they’ve heard ‘Tom Holland.’ Tom Holland? I go, ‘No, it’s Tom Hollander.'”

Tom Holland in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ in 2018.Walt Disney Co./ Everett Collection

Walt Disney Co./ Everett Collection

Hollander said things get worse when people expect to see Holland but get him instead.

“I’m introduced to somebody’s very, very excited, then confused, then disappointed children,” he said. “They go, ‘My children are so excited to meet you.’ And I go, ‘Are they, though?’ … They come out and they go, ‘Where is he? Where is he?’ And they go, ‘No, no.'”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Hollander played Quentin in season 2 ofThe White Lotus. He’s also set to portray Truman Capote inFeud: Capote Vs. The Swans, premiering on FX Jan. 31.

source: people.com