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Updated 4/29/02

We're Hangin' With.... SPIDERMAN

Tobey Maguire

Everybody said it, "How can a low-key, intense guy like Tobey Maguire play superhero Spiderman?". I mean he was cool in Pleasantville and Ciderhouse Rules but…Spiderman? Hey girls, remember the guy under the mask, Peter Parker is a brilliant, moody high school nerd first, superhero second. Tobey's got the Parker character down pat and he buffed up great so he looks pretty fit in that tight Spidey suit. When we chatted with him in Los Angeles, the soft-spoken young actor was far from shy with plenty to say about his character, director and co-star Kirsten Dunst. We learned that he cooks, has an unusual diet (he's been scraping the cheese off his pizza) and, at a party, he people-watches first, then joins the action.

AGW: This movie is different for you. What made you want to do it?

Tobey: I'm excited to be a part of a big event movie. I was interested in working with Sam (Raimi, his director). I thought he was the perfect choice. He's great to be around. He's very encouraging as far as me contributing my ideas and being a creative partner in the process of making a film. Though he's my guide and he's overseeing the whole thing, I'm pretty much in charge of my character and my character's journey and how I relate to other people. Spiderman is really interesting with complicated relationships and a tough journey.

AGW: What makes him different from other comic book characters?

Tobey: The popular answer is that he's not a multi-millionaire and he's not an alien. I just don't think in comparisons though. I was never a comic book fan but I'm aware he was different. He's a person, an identifiable 'every kid' who is a very genuine person, doesn't know how to be dishonest per-se, just has gotta be himself. He wants to share himself with the girl in the beginning but he can't find an angle because that's not him. There's 40 years of Spiderman history laid out for us that was interpreted by a few different people who put it on the page and then Sam and the whole team of people who made the film.

AGW: Are you an outsider like Peter Parker?

Tobey: I don't know. Someone asked if I was a nerdy kid who got bullied and didn't get the girl. I said I think I'm just gonna let you guys think that because it's a more charming story. If I'm in a social situation sometimes I'll hang back and observe people but I feel very much a part of things most of the time and feel very comfortable socializing and have for most of my life. Sometimes when I come into a new situation, it's a little tough to get acclimated and make new friends. A lot of times I'll sit back and observe and not put on a show for anybody and not be like smiling or laughing or going and meeting people and people will come over and say 'oh, come on. Lighten up' or 'come join the group'. I'm fine just sitting here watching people because that's what I want to do right now. If I wanted to go be social I would. I don't have any fear of that. I don't feel like I'm a shy person at all.

AGW: What was the process on the set every day like for you?

Tobey: It requires a lot of focus and concentration. The suit is a suit. You put it on. It's a different way to act though. You try to communicate through body language what is happening with the character. Something Sam (Raimi) and I talked about a lot was to try to keep the audience with the character even though you can't see his expression. As far as the action stuff, for the most part that was fun. Sometimes it would get a little monotonous because it takes so long to shoot little tiny portions of the film but in other ways it was exciting because I didn't quite know what it was going to look like. I just had to put my faith in everybody who was making the film.

AGW: Did you read comics growing up?

Tobey: I didn't read comics, didn't watch them on television. I was aware of the characters, probably ran around and pretended I was them. I did see the Superman movies and enjoyed them.

AGW: How much of the stunts did you do? Was it scary?

Tobey: Not scary, sometimes fun. I did a lot of hanging around as Spiderman.They were shooting me up, dropping me down, doing flips and wires and all kinds of stuff. I didn't do all my stunts. There's a lot of stuff beyond my abilities. The stuntmen did those things. Some is computer-generated.

AGW: We've heard that you got out of a sick bed to do your first screen test with Kirsten Dunst.

Tobey: Yeah. I was reluctant to go because I had strep throat and my doctor suggested that I didn't go to Europe. I called Sam and said 'Sam, I don't know. I'm not feeling well. My doctor says I shouldn't go'. And Sam said, 'look, I don't really feel like going to Berlin and being there seventeen hours either but I'm going and my kids are going to miss me this weekend and that's my sacrifice and we've got to make a great picture and…pack your bags'. I said 'okay, Sam'. It was good with Kirsten right away. She was very thoughtful and left me a sweet note, 'Thank you for coming out here. I understand that you're under the weather'. I thought that was very thoughtful and mature and I was charmed before meeting her. Then she's a great actress. She's fearless and isn't self-conscious so I had a great time working with her and it happened immediately in the audition.

AGW: Was it frustrating when the media started the rumors about you two being a couple?

Tobey: I don't really care. I have a great rapport with Kirsten. I'm friendly with her. I think the relationship(on screen) kind of takes on a life of its own and I think she brings great qualities. As an actress I find her to be really courageous so everything she does is with abandon. She has a great mix of comedy and seriousness, keeping it real. (Mary Jane) walks this line of a girl who is a sweet, genuine girl who gets caught up in the cool crowd and wanting to be something she's not. But then feeling a strange draw towards Peter and what Peter represents. Her growth in the film is the realigning of her priorities and she did a great job with it. I think it's a realistic depiction of something that's a fairly typical situation for young people and I think it will be a good character for kids in general and, more specifically girls to learn from or relate to.

AGW: You two seem pretty different from each other in real life.

Tobey: I'm more subdued and quiet than she is so it's a good teaming and whenever I work with good people it makes my job easier because I'm moved and inspired to have something else go on. It can be challenging for me when I have to just create everything or I'm working off of somebody I don't find as 'present'. She's very 'present' and there to play.

AGW: Spiderman has to make a lot of sacrifices. Even his relationship with love Mary Jane. What is behind that for him?

Tobey: Well, people he's close to get hurt like Aunt May, her life was in jeopardy so he has to make a sacrifice personally in order to continue being Spiderman and have a sense of duty of protecting people and using his powers for the greater good. He doesn't want to put Mary Jane in danger and he also doesn't want to be in an intimate relationship where he's got to deceive her. He doesn't feel like he can tell her his identify. It's saying to her, 'listen, I love you. I care about you and I'm here to protect you to be your friend and that's all I can give you'. I don't know if I'd be able to do that personally.

AGW: We got Kirsten's take on this but what's with that upside down kiss? Did you almost suffocate?

Tobey: (smiling) I snuck some pleasure out of it but it was tough. I was hanging upside down. It was five in the morning, I'd been working all night. It was raining. Water was pouring up my nose. I couldn't breathe through my mouth because the water was sealing the material up so I could barely get any air. She'd lift up (the mask) and it would be pressed against my nose so I couldn't breathe through my nose and she'd be kissing my mouth so there's just no air anywhere. I had to sneak some air out of the corner. It was like I was gasping for breath. It was tough and holding myself in a specific position…but hey, it's fine.

AGW: You physically had to really muscle up for the film. Had you ever done anything like that?

Tobey: I'd already been in pretty good shape then I had to get in shape for the screen test. When I was training specifically for the film, I worked out six days a week for five months, anywhere from an hour and a half to four hours a day; gymnastics, martial arts, yoga, weight lifting, high end cardio, cycling, running, a specific diet. I worked with a nutritionist. It was not hard, really. It was enjoyable. It was time consuming more so than hard. When you get into a routine like that, you start to get kind of obsessive with it. It was like training as a athlete getting ready for a season.

Tobey: You don't eat any meat?

Tobey: I'm a lacto-ovo-vegetarian. I eat dairy and things with egg products although I don't like eggs and I'm not really fond of dairy. I was eating pizza the other day and my friend has this odd habit. When he eats pizza, he takes the cheese off of it. He only orders cheese pizza and he takes the cheese off of it. I always go, 'why don't you just get some bread?'. I never get a good answer out of him. The other day I didn't feel like eating the cheese so I scraped it off and after, I looked at the mound of cheese on this plate and I was like wow. He goes 'yeah and that would have been in your gut'. I haven't been able to eat cheese since then. Just a little parmesan.

AGW: Do you cook?

Tobey: Sometimes. I make some pasta or salads, make some strange tofu stuff.

AGW: You've signed up for two more Spidey films. Was that kind of scary?

Tobey: Yes. But, I felt comfortable. I'm pretty careful when I choose. I talked to Sam a lot and the script (for this one) was what it was and I knew who he was thinking about casting. I felt we had a really good shot at making a good film. Now we've got Sam for the second one so I feel I'm two thirds of the way there. At some point I had a conversation with him, talking about whether or not he'd do the second one. He sounded pretty positive but he hadn't committed yet and I explained to him that I knew where he lived and he was going to have to do the second one. We don't have a script yet but we have the same team of people.

AGW: Are you ready to deal with the big celebrity this might cause? Have you asked friends like Leo (DiCaprio) how he dealt with something like that?

Tobey: I was there so I saw how he dealt with it. It just is what it is. I'm not gonna think about it. There's no reason to get nervous about it. It's something I thought about in making the decision (to do the film) and then, after that, I pretty much haven't thought about something that isn't happening at the present time.

AGW: Are you anxious to do a smaller scale film now?

Tobey: I don't judge things by whether they are big or small. It's a matter of what I'm attracted to. There are a couple of things I'm interested in. One, is a smaller thing. One would be considered a psychological thriller and there's another thing that I can't define.