Tom Holland still can't believe he realized Spider-Man dream in just five years

British actor Tom Holland still can't believe he's actually Spider-Man just five years after telling a U.K. magazine the web-slinger was his dream role.

The young star was asked if he would ever consider playing a superhero on the big screen at an awards show and he said he' love to have a go at Peter Parker and his alter-ego - and it appears someone was listening.

"Five years ago I was at the Empire Awards in London and someone asked if I could be a superhero who would I be," he recalls. "I said, 'In 10 years I'd like to be the Spider-Man after Andrew Garfield'.

"I would never have guessed that it would have come true so quickly."

Holland replaces his fellow Brit in the Marvel franchise's upcoming prequel Spider-Man: Homecoming, which is already receiving rave reviews from early screenings - and Tom still can't believe his luck.

"I've been so lucky in my career," he tells WENN. "I feel like I've been at the right place at the right time at every turn. I got to work with who I consider to be the best of the best and learn from people.

"I've been able to play different characters without having to go too far and I'm looking to go a little bit further. This job since day one has been a rollercoaster and doesn't feel real. I read a comic yesterday which is based off of my face! I mean what the hell? Nothing has sunk in. It feels like I'm going to wake up and be very disappointed."

But he admits he was so keen to please director Jon Watts at times, he hated having to let him know that he really couldn't mimic Spider-Man: "You can't really master hanging upside down; that's not something I prepared for, but my dancing and gymnastics background was so helpful for this project because we were able to do things as Peter Parker that they probably hadn't been able to do in the past," he smiles.

"That said, sometimes they would overestimate my skill set. Jon would say, 'Could you just back off from that wall and land on that beam?' 'No Jon I can't do that! I'm not that good, dude'."