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Updated 7/23//03
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We're Hangin' With..... TOBEY MAGUIRE: Ridin' High! by: Lynn B.
High
above the race track in a fancy VIP room, the press gathered after touring
the facility and getting to greet and pet the horse Tobey rode as Seabiscuit.
(I took the picture below). AGW: Can modern audiences relate to this story? Tobey: I think it's universal, it's relatable. I think in terms of the overall heroic story, I think that's relevant. Also, these people who are broken down [come together]. Someone loses a child [Seabiscuit's owner], someone is out of place in this time [Seabiscuit's trainer] and my character is abandoned. Seabiscuit's been abused and never really understood and I think coming together like a family, we understand and care for each other, and we allow ourselves to be cared for and from that, we face and beat the odds. I'm a 28-year-old guy living our time, and it struck me when I read it. AGW: So you read the book the movie was based on? Tobey: Yeah, the book is a fantastic book. The way she [Laura Hillenbrand] describes character, the way she describes actual horse racing. I mean, I think I had a similar thought that other people had before reading the book which is like, you know, 'Horseracing is fun to watch but I don't know about reading about it'. And then the way she describes the details and all of the little things that happened during a race. I'm sitting there reading a book and I'm filled with emotion as if it's all alive for me. Good writing is so fascinating to me. I don't know how people put their words together to evoke those kind of feelings from me, but when it happens, I love it and I think the book was tremendous. AGW: What was your reaction to the script and what concerns did you have about horse riding? Tobey: I loved the script. I thought Gary Ross [the writer/ director] did a fantastic job adapting the book. The character [of Red Pollard] was just wonderful, very complex and I was excited about it. I'd done another movie where I rode some horses so I knew I had a start. But I did not realize what kind of athletes jockeys are. I mean, they are just warriors, these guys. It's unbelievable. The first time I actually got up in the stirrups and did a bit of a gallop on a racehorse, and also just did some posting, I couldn't believe it. After a couple of minutes, my legs were noodles. I could barely stand up. It's just unbelievable and these guys are doing it seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. They don't have an off time in their season and they're making weight and racing six, seven, eight races a day. They're just tremendous athletes, it's unbelievable. AGW: How did you prepare for the role? Tobey: Physically, I did some training and I had to diet to lose some weight so I could appear like maybe I could be a jockey. And I worked with Chris McCarron who is now retired, a hall of fame jockey who worked on our picture. And we brought in a mechanical horse that was called an equicizer to my house. Several times a week, I would get up there and Chris McCarron would coach me. And that was both for form and just to build up my strength and endurance so I could do it. AGW: You have some bright red, curly hair in this film. Tobey: [touching his "normal" hair] I got a haircut. We curled my hair every day and colored it too. AGW: How does all the physical training affect you? Do you mind it? You lost for this film and then bulked up again for Spider-Man 2. Tobey: I think it's not hard for me in the beginning, the preparation for the film. It excites me and I just dive into it and I like seeing the results of it and something that's tangible. A lot of the homework I do is just about learning the psychology of the character and that's very interesting to me. You look in the mirror and you start to see the characters poking through physically and that's fun. The hard part is maintaining it while shooting. You're working 14 hours a day and you still have to be on a diet even though you're so tired and you're not getting enough sleep and all you want is sugar! I'm eating 1500 calories a day and working out several times a week. That becomes hard and I had some mini breakdowns where I just said, "Bring me as much candy and donuts as you can possibly find." I actually had competitions with a couple people. Two people each brought me different little baskets of treats but I just ended up eating it all anyway. Then I would have to pay for those breakdowns. AGW: After finishing Seabiscuit, how did you bulk back up for Spiderman 2? Tobey: Well, I changed my diet and I changed my workout regimen. The bulking up wasn't hard. Again, it's just about the maintenance and I'm 2/3rds of the way through Spiderman, so I'm doing okay so far. But it gets tough in the middle of a picture. You just kind of get tired. I heard somebody was like, "You know, I really want to trim up but I don't want to go on a diet and I don't want to work out." Okay, well then you're not going to do it. AGW: Did you hurt your back while making Seabiscuit? Tobey: It was pre-existing. It wasn't on this film. And it's just been something that has come and gone over a few years. Nothing I did on this film really hurt my back and since, it's gotten a lot better. AGW: Can you compare the hero character in Seabiscuit with Spider- Man? Tobey:
I want everybody to take a stab at answering this question. [LAUGHTER]
I'm not really sure. Personally, I'm coming from inside both stories and
I identify with both. With the odds being stacked up against you, you
have psychological blocks for yourself. I think Red Pollard feeling abandoned
and living in a very difficult time and being poverty-stricken, has a
lot of personal stuff to overcome, to allow himself to be a part of his
team. But he also finds other broken-down people and a horse and together,
they're just the right team to succeed. And I think during that time that
it obviously struck a chord in America that they became- - Team Seabiscuit
and were such a great example of not letting the times get you down. You're
going to come out of it and just keep going, keep applying yourself, dust
yourself off. And I don't know, I think that's still a hero today. I think
there can be different kinds of heroes or different kinds of inspirational
stories. It's a personal thing and I think Spiderman is as well. It's
kind of a classic outsider nerd kind of kid who gets to be a superhero,
which is pretty cool. Tobey: I used the book and I talked to Gary Ross, the director and also spoke a lot with Laura Hillenbrand [the book's writer]. I also had some home movies that I looked at. And, it became confusing because at some point, it was hard for me to put together what was the real stuff and what was in the movie and I would sometimes get confused about the book versus the script because I think in tone, they were very similar. I started to have to really focus on the script, because that was what I was making after all, our movie. I felt pretty rooted in who this guy was and how I was going to portray him. AGW: What drove him?
AGW: Real champion jockey Gary Stevens plays your friend in the film. Did he teach you anything? Tobey: I just think he's a natural. The guy is good. We'd do scenes and I wasn't conscious of him acting. In terms of learning about what it's like to be a jockey, part of it is just being around him and other jockeys and it just infects you. I think they're kind of extreme guys too, like definitely they're living on the edge a little bit. They put themselves in danger every time they race. An ambulance follows them around while they ride. They have risk of serious injury, possibly even death. And I think that takes a certain kind of focus and respect for the sport. AGW: Were you a horse racing fan before this? Tobey: I was. Not avid, but I went as a child to the race track here and Hollywood Park and Del Mar. I used to go with my family sometimes. And I liked it. It was a lot of fun but this is what's interesting to me. It was just like a big show. I think they do such a great job of putting on a show for us and then [with the film] getting to go behind the scenes and see all the hard work that goes into it, I just have a whole different outlook and a different respect for it. AGW: What is the draw of horse racing? Tobey: I think it's so exciting. When I go to the races, you invest in a horse or in a team and you just get excited, you just pull for them. I go to the races and I don't know anybody there. I don't know the jockey or the horse or anything, but as they're coming into the home stretch, I just find myself screaming my head off and saying funny things. I don't know why. It's just a lot of fun, it's really exciting and of course now, just knowing all the work that goes into it, it's a whole different thing for me. AGW: What's harder, acting or being a jockey? Tobey: Oh, it's definitely more challenging and demanding to be a jockey. 100 percent. Also, there's only 10 percent of them that make a good living. I mean, these are professional athletes. You look at other professional sports and even your 10th or 11th guy on the bench in basketball is making a really good living. Jockeys, if you're not in the top 10 percent, you're not making money. So it's tough. They don't have an off season. Like a wrestler or boxer they have to make weight, but not just before a match. They have to do it seven times a day. These guys are riding a lot of times hungry or dehydrated or whatever they have to do. Some of them are naturally in the right weight category, but a lot of them are probably struggling to get below 115 every race. So, it's nonstop. It's constant. Chris McCarron said he took his first five day voluntary vacation after 20 years of riding. This is seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. It's not something that I would want to do.
Tobey:
It's not true that I was fired. Basically, I had some concerns as did
the studio because the level of stunts are so much greater on the second
picture than the first and we both wanted to make sure I could do it.
So, we went through some tests in terms of me getting into harnesses and
performing some of the stunts. We were pretty close to production, so
I think things got blown out of proportion. We were three weeks out and
we were making sure, or you could say questioning, whether I was able
to do it. After I did the tests, we all felt good about it and off we
went. Tobey:
I like to read, watch movies, play video games. The Indiana Jones video
game on Xbox is pretty good. There's a couple others. I'm reading "Conversations
With Wilder". I like hanging out with my friends and eating and playing
board games, traveling. Tobey: I'm really having a good time. Everybody who's on the picture has done it before, so I feel like it's going even better than the first one. The story's a lot better. I'm having fun. It's exciting.
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He's
soft-spoken and kind of shy in person but stick him on a wall in a red
spandex suit or on the back of a racehorse and he's a superhero! Spider-Man
Tobey Maguire took a break from shooting Spidey 2 in Los Angeles to travel
to the classic and beautiful Santa Anita racetrack in Arcadia, California
where he joined us to talk about his role as a down-on-his-luck jockey
in the new film Seabiscuit based on a best-selling book by Laura
Hillenbrand. In case your grandpa or other family member hasn't told you,
Seabiscuit was a real race horse in the Depression era 1930's. He was
a small, not really beautiful horse who was losing until red-haired jockey
Red Pollard hopped on his back. Then, he went on to win big and win the
heart of the nation. 
Tobey
told us he was fascinated with the character and the story and has a newfound
respect for jockeys as he learned to ride real race horses, as well as
a funny-looking mechanical horse, for the film. He also had trouble keeping
on a very limiting diet and finally had a sugar craving food fit!! When
we talked with the actor, whose beautiful blue eyes matched his shirt,
we found him to be excited about this departure into the role of a different
kind of hero.
Tobey:
I heard that somebody said to him that he was basically going to amount
to nothing and I think that kind of thing did drive him. But I also think
it was at a point where he was kind of a broken man and a little bit desperate.
It was just a fortunate set of circumstances or destiny or whatever because
he was not a very successful jockey prior to Seabiscuit. Then, he became
really famous and I think he really enjoyed that. I think Red's very complex.
He was abandoned. He had a lot of anger. I think he could be self-destructive.
But he met up with these people [Seabiscuit's owner and trainer] and he
found a second family and they got to succeed together.
AGW:
Let's clear up a rumor. Were you fired from Spider-Man because
of the back injury?