October 2021
Zendaya spoke to InStyle in October and revealed that even on days she wasn't acting, the Spider-Man director let her come to observe. One thing that always stood out to her, she said, is watching Tom to "see how he cares so much about his work and making it right", noting that he'd always come back to the monitors to watch what his fight sequences looked like. "He'd do a move, come back to the monitors, watch it, and say, 'I can do that better.' I'd be like, 'Dude, you got it.' But he wants us to be perfect, and I really appreciate that," Zendaya said.
February 2021
Zendaya cheered on Tom for taking on more mature roles, such as his army medic turned war veteran role in Cherry. "It's very hard to watch, because you're like, 'Dang, that's my friend and I'm seeing him every day as Peter Parker.' It's brutal. But he took on the challenge beautifully," she told Esquire. "Once people get to see this version of Tom Holland, what's next? Sky's the limit."
Meanwhile, Tom credited Zendaya for helping him during "life-changing" moments and dealing with fame. "Not only are you making big films and you're travelling the world, but everyone starts to know who you are. And you have to behave differently," he told Backstage, adding, "You have a responsibility to kind of uphold this idea of being a role model to young kids. And, arguably, she's the best at that. You can't really find anything against Zendaya, she's kind of like the perfect person. It was so wonderful to have someone like her in my corner, to help me grow through that process."
In February, he also opened up the career changes he and Zendaya are undergoing, telling British GQ, "Zendaya and I are going through similar things in our career, having taken on more adult roles to now come back to Spider-Man. I am so proud of what she has accomplished with Euphoria and also Malcolm & Marie."