While almost every Spidey fan is convinced that both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield will appear alongside Tom Holland in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home, the star of the Amazing Spider-Man still denies any such collaboration.
In more ways than any diehard enthusiast would be eager to admit, Garfield’s movies lacked certain palates that made the Sam Raimi flicks such an iconic cinematic achievement. Credit where it’s due, though, the actor’s portrayal and dedication to the role made for one of the best iterations of the friendly neighborhood Web-Slinger to date. And so, if Tobey’s fans seem to be fervently speculating about his return, Andrew’s shouldn’t be far behind, despite what the thespian himself has to say on the matter.
As superbly as his performance as the bespoke Peter Parker turned out to be, though, it seems that Garfield wasn’t satisfied with his own performance. At least, that’s what he recently told Total Film (via GamesRadar), discussing the challenges of taking on the role and what he did to prepare.
“My intention… I started studying myth, which is the basis of comic-book films and comic books generally,” He said. “And you go, ‘Oh, right. The responsibility of modern filmmakers is the same as the person telling the story around the campfire.’ Stories are the things that remind us of who we are as human beings, and we actually have an opportunity to provide deep wisdom and medicine, and guidance. So for me, it was like: How do I help to infuse this with as much soul and universality as possible, knowing that millions of young people are going to be watching?”
That’s certainly a peculiar approach to playing Spider-Man if ever we heard one. He further added:
“So it’s not an exercise in selling t-shirts and mugs and Happy Meals, but it’s giving young people the opportunity to feel their own extraordinariness, and their own ordinariness, and seeing someone who’s just like them struggle with those two things living inside of themselves. So for me, it was about that. And then, you know, there’s everyone else that’s serving their own masters.”
At this point, the interviewer noted that Andrew Garfield seemed dissatisfied with the role, and he agreed reluctantly, saying:
“I’m very rarely satisfied with how something turns out. I suffer from that kind of queer, divine dissatisfaction that most creative people have. I remember watching The Social Network for the first time, and me and Jesse were like, ‘Oh, we hate this shit. We hate it.’ Everyone around us was going, ‘What the fuck is wrong with you? It’s incredible.’ We were like, ‘No. I ruined it. They should have cast someone else.’ There’s a healthy version of that, which is the growing down thing. But then sometimes it turns into an indulgence.”
Taking up the mantle of Spidey should be enough to make any star question their acting chops, but I think it’s safe to say that, all things considered, the Amazing Spider-Man lead did a wonderful job of it. What are your thoughts on the matter, though? Sound off below.
