Tom Holland Is Returning to Dance to Play Fred Astaire

Tom Holland is returning to dance for his next major role. The actor has begun rehearsing to play Fred Astaire in Sony’s upcoming biopic and plans to perform the dance sequences himself, without doubles. He has also said he wants the numbers filmed in long, uninterrupted takes, in keeping with the way Astaire’s choreography was traditionally captured on screen.

Margaret Qualley will play Adele Astaire, Fred’s older sister and first dance partner, while Sabrina Carpenter has been cast as Ginger Rogers. Paul King is directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Steven Levenson. The film is based on Kathleen Riley’s 2012 biography The Astaires: Fred & Adele, with Riley also involved as a script and story consultant.

That source material points to a film that will spend considerable time on Astaire’s career before Hollywood. Fred and Adele performed together from childhood, made their Broadway debut in 1917 and later found success in London’s West End. Their partnership lasted until 1932, when Adele left the stage and married Lord Charles Cavendish.

Adele’s career presents an unusual challenge for the filmmakers: no known footage of her dancing survives. King has spoken about the contrast between Fred’s later screen work with Ginger Rogers, which remains widely available, and Adele’s performances, which must be reconstructed from photographs, written accounts and archival material.

After Adele retired, Astaire continued on his own and moved into film. He appeared in Dancing Lady in 1933 and, later that year, was paired with Ginger Rogers in Flying Down to Rio. They went on to make nine films together between 1933 and 1939, including The Gay Divorcee and Top Hat, before reuniting in 1949 for The Barkleys of Broadway.

Carpenter’s casting places that famous screen partnership alongside the earlier Fred-and-Adele story. Qualley also comes to the role with a dance background of her own.

For Holland, the preparation is a return to familiar territory. Before his film career took off, he played Billy Elliot in the West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical from 2008 to 2010.

He first confirmed his involvement in the Astaire project in 2021 and said in July 2026 that rehearsals were already underway. Holland described the scale of the work ahead as both exciting and daunting, adding that his aim was to “do Fred proud.”

Amy Pascal and Rachel O’Connor are producing through Pascal Pictures, with Holland producing through Billy17 and Ben Holden and Josh Hyams through Lightbulb Pictures. Fred Astaire’s daughter, Ava Astaire McKenzie, supports the project, while her son Tyler McKenzie is serving as a consultant and co-producer.

A release date has not yet been announced.