To me, Marisa Tomei will always be Mona Lisa Vito from My Cousin Vinny. But, she’s also cemented a place for herself in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Aunt May, the beloved aunt and guardian of Peter Parker aka Spider-Man. Marisa has been in all three Spidey movies, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), which means she got a front row seat to the origins of the Tom Holland/Zendaya romance. Earlier this week, Marisa appeared at Fan Expo Canada. During a Q&A at an event, she was asked what her favorite behind-the-scenes moments from filming Spider-Man was. Her answer? Watching Tom and Zendaya fall in love. Awwwww.
Marisa Tomei—who portrayed Peter Parker’s Aunt May in the Spider-Man trilogy—recently discussed that her most cherished behind-the-scenes moments of filming the Marvel saga were witnessing Tom and Zendaya get together.
“I think some of the favorite things were really just watching Tom and Zendaya grow up and watching them fall in love,” the Oscar-winner said in a video uploaded to X from a Fan Expo Canada event on Aug. 25. “And seeing their phenomenal talent and being blown away from the get-go.”
And being witness to the love between the two stars isn’t the only thing about Zendaya and Tom that blew her away.
“Some people are just meant for it, and they are meant for it,” Marisa continued about their stardom. “They carry enormous, enormous star power and they manage to be real people at the same time.”
The My Cousin Vinny actress went on to praise how “multitalented” the Cherry actor and Dune actress are.
“They can do everything,” she said. “They sing, they dance, they act, they do stunts, they design fashion. I mean, what are they not doing? They are incredible, incredible people.”
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, but weren’t confirmed to be dating until 2021. Since then, the couple has mostly kept their relationship out of the spotlight, but have shared some peeks behind the curtain of their own.
Haha, I love this answer. I honestly do respect that T&Z want to keep their relationship lowkey, but they’re so adorable together that I can’t help but want to see/hear more about them. She’s not wrong about how talented they both are, either. I mean, we’ve all seen Tom’s appearance on Lip Sync Battle, where he dances to Rhianna’s “Umbrella,” with Zendaya as one of the judges. And we all know how talented *and* utterly fashionable Z is, too. During her answer, Marisa also mentioned that she saw Tom in “Romeo & Juliet” on the West end earlier this summer. That’s awesome that she went to support him. Marisa is just like us, stanning Tom and Zendaya in all regards.
🎥 pamet-u-glavuuu pic.twitter.com/jvUniqCXZG
— best of tom holland (@thollandrchive) August 26, 2024
photos credit: Joe Sutter/Avalon, James Shaw/Avalon, Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, Getty
Nice to know that the people who actually know them, love them together.
Her sweet answer just confirms my belief that she’s a good soul. I bet she did feel like an aunty to them both as they grew up in front of her.
I love her answer and I love Marisa Tomei as well as Tom and Zendaya.
Teensy correction-Zendaya wasn’t one of the judges. They were competing and she actually won that round; she did Bruno Mars 24K and Erykah Badu’s Tyrone.
ETA: Yes, I have watched that episode 100x, why do you ask? 🙂
I will never tire of watching Tom Holland’s “Umbrella” performance on Lip-Sych Battle. SOOOO epic – loved watching the chemistry between them. They are too adorable together 😍
My Cousin Vinny is one of my favorites and it was a staple in my home growing up. We used to quote that movie SO much!!! I have loved Marissa since she stole every single scene and I’ve never stopped!!! She’s incredible!!!
“Oh yeah, you blend!!”
We recorded it on VHS from a tv broadcast and that’s the only version I’ve seen. Imagine my surprise when I bought the dvd and watched it with my kids!!!! I had the same exact experience with Planes, Trains and Automobiles!!! The rental car scene!!! That was a fun surprise!!! 😂
I love Marissa Tomei. And it was fun watching both her and Robert Downey Jr reunite from Only You to the Marvel movies. I could have sworn he referenced a “shoe” phrase in one of the Avenger scenes lolZ
I also love Tom and Zendaya. They’re just one of the Hollywood IT couples at the moment but low key at the same time