It was a moment that went viral almost as quickly as it petered out. Tom Holland challenged Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds to do the handstand challenge and it did not become a thing, but it did create at least one memorable response.
Jake actually took on the challenge, impressing everyone, but it was Ryan Reynolds who got the bigger laughs with his initial and very terse response.
After Tom showed off his talent by putting on a shirt while doing a handstand — a practical life skill if we’ve ever seen one — he urged his Marvel co-stars to do the same. Ryan quickly shot back a single-word video response. Looking a little confused and a little perturbed, he simply told Tom, “No.”
And a man of his word, he did not do it. That left Jake in an awkward spot. “I was gonna do the same thing until that morning when he already posted him saying no,” Jake told Stephen Colbert on Tuesday. “Then I thought, Oh well great, now I have to– I’m gonna have to try this.”
To his credit, Tom’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” co-star proved totally up to the challenge, expertly performing the same valuable skill before attempting to continue the challenge himself.
He did try and be funny with him, but his phone proved too “smart” for his tricks. “I thought, oh, I’m gonna be funny and I’m gonna turn my camera upside down and I’m gonna do it right side up,” he said. “nd I’m just gonna let the shirt fall into my hands.”
After four attempts he realized that his camera was auto-correcting the orientation of the video, defeating his every attempt to create his anti-gravity illusion. And so he was left with no recourse but to try it himself.
In the process, he threw out the challenge to 50 Cent, Hugh Jackman and his sister Maggie. He said she slayed it, as he knew she would, but “Hugh Jackman and 50 Cent did not respond at all.” And that, my friends, is how you kill a viral challenge. You ignore it to death.
He did actually get a response from Jackman — of a sort — that was even funnier than Ryan’s response to Tom. “I emailed Hugh Jackman. I said, come on, man,” Jake said. “And he said, I hope you’re well.”
Stephen was convinced this was an out-of-office automatic reply, or not Hugh’s email at all. Either way, the challenge appears to have died with the Gyllenhaals, thanks to the lack of enthusiasm by both Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.
Ironically, the Deadpool and Wolverine star have been embroiled in a playful feud for years now and this would have been a fun and playful way to continue it. Instead, they actually agreed in their total lack of interest in getting involved. This is why Tom spills secrets, guys, because no one will play with him.
Earlier in the interview, and we share it here simply because it is so absolutely ridiculous and funny, Jake and Stephen spent way too long talk about sourdough starters. Yes, this is a thing. And apparently you have to be quiet while the bread rests, as he chastised “Steve” repeatedly.
You can check out all the silliness, as well as Jake’s thoughts on his appearance for Stephen Sondheim’s birthday celebration, in the clip below:
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