Naomi Watts "always knew" Tom Holland was destined for stardom.

Naomi Watts has heaped praise on Tom Holland

Naomi Watts has heaped praise on Tom Holland

The 53-year-old actress appeared alongside Tom, 25, in the 2012 film 'The Impossible' - in which she played his on-screen mother - and Naomi always thought he had the potential to become a big star in the movie business.

Speaking about her former co-star, Naomi told Comic Book Movie: "[It's] so wonderful. I’m so happy for him. I always knew that Tom would go on and have a pretty outstanding career."

Tom - who is dating fellow Hollywood star Zendaya - is best known for playing the part of Spider-Man in the money-spinning film franchise.

But Naomi never thought of him as being an obvious candidate for the sought-after role.

Reflecting on Tom's career successes, she said: "I didn’t think of Spider-Man. That’s just, you know, not something that came to mind, but I knew that he had all of the goods.

"This was a kid who was doing his first movie, had unbelievable access to emotions, had great discipline and whether or not that comes from his dance and athletic background, I don’t know."

Naomi also hailed Tom's family, describing them as "great".

The actress hasn't been remotely surprised by his success in the film industry over the last decade.

Naomi said: "He has a really great family too … They’re a really solid team of people there supporting him.

"He’s off on his own now, of course, but just having a really good foundation … you’re going to be up for all of the challenges in our industry that play out if you’ve got a good family. It doesn’t surprise me is what I’m trying to say!"