Zendaya Coleman’s on-screen mum on “Euphoria”, Nika King, has given her seal of approval to the actress’ boyfriend Tom Holland. The 44-year-old actress, who plays Leslie Bennett to the 26-year-old starlet’s troubled drug addict Rue on HBO’s shock teen drama, said she became a fan of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” star Tom’s after she met him at her co-star’s house.
“I’ve met Tom. He’s come over to her house when they have dinners and stuff like that,” Nika told Page Six. “He’s very sweet, very nice… they always look happy, they always look like they’re enjoying themselves. And I’m just like, look, whenever I see love, I’m here for it.”
Zendaya and Tom, who are both 26, have been dating since 2017 after they co-starred in “Spider-Man: Homecoming” in which she played his superhero’s love interest Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson.
Nika added Tom is part of a “good core of people” around “Dune” star Zendaya who help keep her grounded amid her rising global fame. She said, “She has a good core of people around her and I think that’s also important. She keeps her clique pretty small.”
“So she’s learned through probably the same – just like we all do – trial and error,” Nika further elaborated, “or having different people come into your life just to say, ‘OK, this is the tribe and I trust this tribe.’ ”
Nika also admitted that if she had reached Zendaya’s level of fame when she was young she may have ended up as addicted to drugs as the actress’ “Euphoria” character. She said, “I’m glad (fame) took as long as it did because if I would have gotten success early, I’m pretty sure I would’ve been somewhere strung out on drugs because it’ll suck you in if you don’t have a strong core or a foundation of who you are.”
“No one can tell me who I am,” she added, “because I’ve had so many years to kind of go through the, ‘Oh, my hair isn’t straight enough, oh, my nose is not [thin] enough, oh, my complexion, I need to be more ambiguous.’ ”
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