[IMG:L]There are a lot of new things going on in Tobey Maguire’s life: he’s a new father, he’s about to be a new husband, and even his most famous movie role – Peter Parker, a.k.a. The Amazing Spider-Man – has a brand new attitude for Spider-Man 3: the good-hearted, down-on-his-luck superhero had finally been embraced by an adoring public and gotten his love together with Mary Jane Watson, but with a little push from an mysterious alien costume Peter’s about to explore his edgier aspects.
Maguire tells Hollywood.com about the bright side of playing Spidey’s dark side, the likelihood of returning for a fourth film in the series, and the dos and don’ts of dealing with a young fan who thinks you really can climb walls.
Hollywood.com: How did you feel about returning for the third time as the man behind Spider-Man?
Tobey Maguire: I had a good time on the movie. I love it. I love working with the cast and the crew and especially with Sam [Raimi], so it was great coming back. And I really felt like in this movie it was definitely the continuing story of Peter Parker and the other characters, but we were also exploring new territory for the character. So it was exciting for me to venture into some different areas…It’s a new side to Peter Parker and something that I think is kind of unexpected to see, Peter Parker behaving in some of the ways that he behaves. It was a lot of fun, and it was a lot of work for Sam and I to go over it and really think about and discuss the right tone for that part of the movie.
HW: Where did your input into this film begin? Did you get to bring some of your ideas to Sam about the darker side to the character, or the comedic elements, early on?
TM: I think Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi came up with the basic idea for the movie and it was kicked around for a while before I got involved with it, but I was involved fairly early on in terms of the screenplay. Sam was very open to me contributing all of my ideas, both from a story standpoint, tonally, content of scenes – everything. He was very open and would listen, and I think would use stuff when it was good and dismiss it when it wasn’t.
[IMG:R]HW: Sam said that the “Dark Spider-Man” scenes were the hardest for him to get through in the movie because he doesn’t like to see the character doing bad things. Did you feel the same way?
TM: Well, I probably had the most fun doing those scenes myself. I’ve heard Sam say that before too and I’m not quite sure that I’ve ever believed him, though. I feel like it’s both ways. I think that he’s attracted to it and repulsed by it at the same time. I think that it’s hard for him to see Peter behave in those ways because it’s like his treasured character of Peter sort of straying off course and so I do think that he has a genuine reaction to that. I also think that we both get a little pleasure out of seeing Peter like that.
HW: Could you identify with some of the things that Peter went through in this film, like Spider-Man’s popularity success going to his head?
TM: I think that Peter and I react differently to that aspect of it. He’s really kind of loving it and bathing in it and getting that kind of arrogance and self-importance. To me, I enjoyed playing it and I thought it was funny and fun to do personally. We just have different experiences.
HW: The film has a definite theme of forgiveness, and you’ve talked about your own childhood being troubled and about forgiving your parents, who were so young and split up so early that you were bounced around a lot.
TM: I was fortunate enough to find different people along the way, whether it was through movies or books or people that helped buoy me in times when things were a little bit down. And I never really wanted to be a victim or kind of wallow in the harder things. I always wanted to move forward and I was very ambitious. I felt like I had a pretty good imagination and vision for my life and I had people telling me that I was driving the vehicle of my life here, that I was the master of my own destiny in a sense. They told me to do whatever I wanted to do.
HW: On the flip side, you pull off so many of the the comedic scenes that you have on this movie so well, and then we’ve heard from your co-stars about how funny you are on set–
TM: Extremely funny. I’m so funny [Laughs].
[IMG:L]HW: But other than these films, we rarely see you being funny on screen. Is there a wacky comedy in your future?
TM: I don’t know. I want to work in all kinds of movies and so I would love to do a good comedy, and it was fun. It was a lot of fun. It was fun to do this with Sam. I think that he has a great sense of humor and so we had a blast doing that.
HW: You show off some…interesting dance moves in the film.
TM: Well, first of all that was Peter Parker dancing, not Tobey [Laughs]. It really is like a thing where Peter thinks that he’s super-cool and suave and really he’s a cornball. So we were making fun of that and having fun and our aim was to have people laughing. So I had that in mind while I was dancing…The basic idea of it was choreographed, and then we kind of riffed on that and had fun from there.
HW: Do you ever get concerned that you’ll only be seen as Spider-Man by audiences or by Hollywood?
TM: I’m not really concerned about it as long as I have opportunities to make other types of movies. I mean, certainly I’m identified with this film or with this character and I don’t think that’s going to go away any time soon. So I’m not fighting that or resisting it. As long as I get to make some other movies I’m fine with that.
HW: Now that you’ve done the three movies and knowing that Sony is going to be pretty committed to making more, the big question is whether you’d consider coming back for a Spider-Man 4?
TM: Well, if there was a great story there and there was something interesting for Peter Parker to do, like a storyline that I love for Peter Parker and Sam was involved and the right cast was in place, at that point I would consider it.
HW: But if Sam didn’t come back, you wouldn’t consider coming back?
TM: No… I thought or always imagined that it was going to be three and out. I would do three films and that would be enough of those, and I’m not saying that I will do a fourth one at all. I’m saying that I’m not really committed either way, and we’ll see what happens.
HW: If this is the end of your run with these movies, what are some of the things that you will look back on and think of fondly and what will you miss the most? And would you have any strong feelings about someone new coming in taking over the character of Peter Parker?
TM: Well, I definitely love working with all of the people, the cast and Sam and all of that. So I hope to work with them, whether it was this or not, and I’m sure that at some point I’ll have memories, sentimental kinds of feelings about my experiences on the film. I mean, I already do. I’ve had great times doing this, but it’s not like there’s any pain involved in that. It’s just kind of nice. And in terms of another actor playing the part – I don’t take any issue with that.
HW: How do you feel about appearing in another comic book-based property?
TM: I don’t think I’ll be playing another iconic superhero from a comic book. I think that would be kind of odd and I’m guessing that it might be kind of hard for audiences to accept me in that way, but sure. I mean, what was that thing with Viggo Mortensen – That was from a graphic novel, wasn’t it? A History of Violence. Yeah, sure. So there are a lot of things that take on a different tone. Like I said though, I wouldn’t go be in another film where I was one of these iconic superheroes. I think that would be weird.
HW: You got to work with Stan Lee in this movie, the creator of this iconic hero. What’s your take on him and him seeing this character that he created 40 years ago become this huge movie property?
TM: What he’s done is pretty amazing to me. He created all of these characters, and not just Spider-Man, but a lot of characters that are these huge iconic characters that are really present in Hollywood movies now. So it’s pretty interesting and he’s an icon himself like his characters are.
HW: Kids are a whole different kind of fan: they can really sort of believe that you are Peter Parker. How do you respond to kids who think that you’re Spider-Man for real?
TM: I love kids and it’s a lot of fun interacting with kids, but it’s a little confusing sometimes because I want to take the lead from parents. Sometimes parents will want to explain that I’m an actor and sort of the reality of the situation and other parents like to keep the illusion alive. So, that’s always a sort of trickier spot and especially the younger they are. I did have a thing where at the time I thought the right thing to do was to explain. The kid asked me and I was honest about it. The kid said, ‘[Climbing up walls] – How do you do that?’ I said, ‘Well, we take the building, the vertical building and turn it on it’s back and I’m crawling across it.’ And the kid was just really bummed out. I was just like shattering his whole thing, and then I had to work to get back in there, but we ended up hugging and he was telling me that he was going to miss me and it ended up being a really sweet thing, but for a while I felt really bad about it.
HW: Of the three Spider-Man films do you have a favorite?
TM: Right now I feel like this one is my favorite. I’m excited about it. It’s fresh. I feel like there are so many great things. It’s funnier. It explores new territory. It’s probably the most distinctly different of the three films. I thought that two was a really, really good movie. The story came together very well. And in the first one I loved the kind of excitement of it and the origin story. Right now, though, this is probably my favorite – but that might change.
HW: Finally, how do you feel about spiders at this point in your life?
TM: I’m fine with spiders. I respect their place in the world and I don’t kill spiders if there is a spider in my house. A lot of times I would just let spiders go. I saw a huge spider in my house last night and I just left it there, but now again, Jen, my fiancé is telling me that I have to get them outside because of the baby. So, I’ve got to escort the spiders outside now.
