Zendaya.Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

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Talk about a full-circle moment forZendaya.

While the actress met her beauTom Hollandon the set ofSpider-Man: Homecomingback in 2016, her love life actually involved the web-slinging superhero years earlier.

“Literally my first date was when I was 15 years old and it was to go see[The Amazing] Spider-Manin 3D,” Zendaya, 26, said on Thursday at CinemaCon while accepting the Star of the Year Award.

“Now I consider myself honored to be able to buy a ticket and sneak into the back of one of your theaters, which I’ve done many times before, and watch my own,” she added.

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Zendaya.Gabe Ginsberg/WireImage

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During her acceptance speech before the film-exhibition community, theEuphoriastar — who has starred in threeSpider-Manfilms alongside Holland, 26 — spoke of the importance of movie theaters and the experience of shared viewing.

“I think my gift is storytelling — that’s what I love to do,” said Zendaya. “It means nothing if those stories don’t get to people they need to get to.”

In a theater, she continued, “that’s where someone can feel seen” and “feel less alone.”

“That’s when someone can escape,” theEmmywinner explained. “That’s where someone can build a new dream. And I have been witness to that, and I’ve experienced it myself.”

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It’s a “magical” feeling to watch others view her movies, Zendaya said.

“It’s been so special because I get to watch whatthe moviegoing experience doesfor people. It’s healing and it’s magical and I feel so grateful to be a part of it,” she explained.

Zendaya spent much of the week at CinemaCon in Las Vegas chatting with movie-theater owners and studio executives — but she also had some time to let loose, too.

source: people.com