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"I wasn't sure about playing Spider-Man"
“I wasn’t sure about playing Spider-Man”
As Tobey Maguire zips himself into the lycra for what could be the
last time in Spider-Man 3, he tells us why he’s so glad he
took a gamble on being a hero…
When you are the star of a film franchise that has so far taken more
than $1.5 billion at the global box office, and the latest film in
that series is one of the year’s most highly anticipated action
events, you may well be forgiven for being just a teensy bit cocky.
Yet there doesn’t appear to be the slightest trace of arrogance, or
even over-confidence, emanating from Tobey Maguire when he meets
Film Review to chat about the imminent release of Spider-Man 3.
Instead the 31-year-old actor is surprisingly modest about his
screen achievements as the Marvel Comics hero.
Perhaps, as he talks of the challenges he faced in continuing the
franchise, it is his intention to avoid the banana skin of beating
the drum too loudly for a movie for which the expectation is already
sky high. But on the basis of the Spider-Man 3 footage that we have
been allowed to see, the young actor should have no worries. This
movies looks as though it has once again lifted the bar on the
action sequences, and has the juicy bonus of a plot that’s deeper,
darker and even more fascinating than the previous two Spider-Man
hits.
In this third installment, there are even more goodies designed to
enthrall fans of the franchise while the film develops the theme of
revenge, as Spidey’s alter ego Peter Parker is even more determined
to bring the killer of his Uncle Ben to justice. As this element of
the plot continues, Spider-Man also battles a couple of impressive
villains in the shape of Sandman – played by Thomas Haden Church of
Sideways fame – and Venom, who is portrayed by Topher Grace. On top
of these all-out clashes, there’s also the fascinating tussle that
Spidey has within himself after an alien presence exposes the buried
dark side of the superhero.
And, as if all that wasn’t enough to get your juices flowing,
Spider-Man 3 also features a love triangle as Peter Parker finds two
beautiful girls vying for his affections; rising actress Mary Jane
Watson – again played by Kirsten Dunst – and newcomer Gwen Stacy
(Bryce Dallas Howard).
Maguire smiles and nods in agreement when it’s suggested that fans
will be particularly delighted that, in his third big screen
adventure, Spider-Man will be facing not just a horde of colourful
villains, but also a tug of love and a psychological struggle that
comes from within.
“That’s great, and it will be a lot of fun,” agrees Maguire. “We’re
always trying to bring everything back to the characters and to have
the story interconnected. That’s why I say that the greatest
challenge is to make one cohesive story from all these parts. But
all the parts are better and were more fun to do.”
In fact, the star goes on to acknowledge that it’s the deliciously
bad guys who have contributed a great deal to the continuing success
of the Spider-Man adventures. “Willem [Dafoe] did a great job [as
Green Goblin] and Doc Ock [played by Alfred Molina] was a great
villain, but there are many characters in this one to play off, and
that’s good.”
Like any young actor who heads a franchise as successful as
Spider-Man, Maguire is keen that the films constantly keep ringing
the changes, so that, in the course of the making of each edition of
the comic book adventures, he has new mountains to climb. So it’s no
surprise to learn that the actor is deeply involved in the
structuring of the Spider-Man 3 script.
“Sam and Ivan Raimi came up with the basic story structure and Alvin
Sargent wrote the screenplay,” he explains of the process. “I come
along with story suggestions and after I read the screenplay I get
more specific and I say, ‘I would love to see more of this, less of
this and what about this idea?’ “Sam gets everybody’s
notes and ideas and he channels them into his vision of his movie.
He’s given me a tremendous amount of trust and opportunity and I’ve
had a lot of input, particularly in the area of Peter Parker’s arc.
I’ve been able to help a lot but I don’t claim any authorship at all
– other than the fact that it’s me!”
Despite Maguire’s obvious and multi-faceted commitment to the
project, there was a delicate period in the evolution of the
Spider-Man series when it looked like it might not be him inside
that familiar costume. That was just before Spider-Man 2,
when director Sam Raimi was so worried about Tobey’s back problems
that he was concerned the actor might not be up to the role’s
physical demands. Raimi has since admitted that he even talked
briefly with Zodiac star Jake Gyllenhaal about taking over, but
fortunately Maguire was able to reassure everyone that he was in
good shape and everything went on as originally planned.
“I’m great now,” assures the actor, who admits that some film roles
– like 2003’s Seabiscuit in which he played a champion jockey –
exacted a physical toll.
“Seabiscuit was my lowest point, but after that I made some
lifestyle adjustments and started doing certain exercises.” Part of
that regime, he explains, is regular yoga exercises. “I like doing
the yoga. It’s good in terms of flexibility and overall health.” He
says. “I’ve been doing it off and on. I’ve basically been pain free
since the beginning of Spider-Man 2. I’m not superstitious
but I’ll touch wood.”
Undoubtedly one of the most show-stopping moments in Spider-Man 3
occurs when the alien presence of Venom sucks Spidey into some dark
places in the character’s personality, and actually turns the famous
Spider-Man suit into a sinister looking black. Although Maguire
admits that the black suit didn’t feel any different to wear, when
he’s asked about exploring the superhero’s darker side it’s clear
that this is an aspect of the plot that had him completely gripped.
“I would say that I had the most fun on this movie, part of that
being where Peter’s character goes,” he says with a smile.
Inevitably, the revelation of Spider-Man’s darker side has caused
journalists to gently prod the star with questions about whether he
has a dark side and indeed if he’s ever been guilty of act that
might be described as wicked. “This is where, if I could manufacture
something, I’d be more famous. If I could think of some naughty
stories,” he says grinning. “But I don’t really have any. I’m such a
boring guy now. Maybe in my youth…”
On screen, of course, Maguire ahs recently enjoyed the opportunity
to give an edgy supporting performance as a less-than-likable
military driver opposite George Clooney and Cate Blanchett in
director Steven Soderbergh’s 1940s style noir thriller The Good
German.
“That was easy for me and it was nice, too, to have an easy job!”
says Maguire. “They sent me the script and asked me to do it and it
was simple. I said, ‘Yeah, great! It sounds fun.’ Steven was
shooting it in the style of a movie from that era, so much so that
he had the film edited before it was shot! It was shot so fast. We
would go to work at seven or eight in the morning; have lunch six
hours later and then a couple of hours later we were done. Normally
you’re working 12, 14 hours on a film shoot. I had one four-page
scene with Cate [Blanchett] and I thought, ‘OK, this is going to
take all day,’ but we were done by lunch! So that was a breeze to
shoot.”
“I enjoyed doing that but it was nice to have the opposite
experience, too, on Spider-Man 3,” the actor continues, “where we
are shaping scenes as we are shooting. We didn’t change a word on
The Good German so I was happy to take a supporting role and
work with George and Cate, who is phenomenal”
Throughout his career, Maguire has maintained the happy habit of
getting himself cast in some high quality films such as The Ice
Storm (1997), The Cider House Rules (1999), and Wonder
Boys (2000), but he insists that there has never been any
brilliantly conceived plan of action in the path of his career. What
it does come down to – and this includes the Spider-Man series – is
being able to combine the right script with a director he admires
and respects.
“I guess I’m just taking one move at a time at this point.” The
actor explains. “In the beginning, it was pretty simple. If there
was a script I thought had a good story and a good character for me,
and was being done by a film-maker I wanted to work with, I was
happy to do it. It needed to be a film-maker I respected, such as
Ang Lee [director of The Ice Storm], even back then. The fact
that he directed Sense and Sensibility blew my mind. The same
applies to Steven Soderbergh [The Good German], Curtis Hanson
[Wonder Boys], and Woody Allen [Deconstructing Harry].
They are guys I admired. Gary Ross on Pleasantville was a
first-time director but I admired his confidence in himself and his
material and I thought he matured tremendously between that movie
and Seabiscuit.
“With Sam [Raimi], all the pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly to
ensure he was the perfect guy for the Spider-Man movies. He has a
great sense of humour, he’s an innovator, he has a great sense of
where the camera should be, he’s romantic and he’s emotionally
locked into these characters. That sounds analytical but basically I
read a good script and go ‘Wow, that was good.’ But I still need to
meet the director. When I first read Cider House Rules I
thought the script was OK but needed work, but when I met Lasse [Hallstrom]
there was just something about him and the way he talked about the
character that made me want to make this movie. It was the same with
Sam. I wasn’t sure about playing Spider-Man at first, but when I met
Sam it was the way it possessed him that struck me. He had to make
this movie and he had to tell this story and I knew from his past
that he had the tools to tell it.”
Apart from creating box office records with the Spider-Man series,
and accepting scripts that get his creative juices going, Maguire is
also busy with his production company, Maguire Productions (MMC Note
- should be Maguire Entertainment). He has a bunch of projects in
various stages of development, including an adaptation of the Peter
Craig novel Hot Plastic, about a father and son who are con
men. “It’s a very good novel and I’ll actually be reading a new
draft of the script on the plane home from this interview. I’m
excited about that.” He reveals.
But do his obviously good instincts for acting roles come into play
when he’s wearing his producers hat? “I don’t know,” he answers.
“It’s different for me as a producer because I don’t have to make
movies as a producer. For most producers, their primary job is to
push to get a film made. It’s relentless and they come at it from
every angle. I’m just working on the scripts to make them better and
better. That’s good and bad because I do feel like things happen
when you put them in motion. Often you have cast and director in
place, and the script isn’t quite ready, but you can work on that
and good movies end up getting made that way. For me as a producer,
I’m just having a good time working with writers and exploring how
we can make the script into a better screenplay.”
Back at Spider-Man 3, a web of speculation has been spun with the
suggestion that this film might be Maguire’s last in the Spidey
costume. When he meets Film Review, however, the star is vague about
his future as a film superhero but there is a hint of things
starting to be wrapped up.
“I think we have concluded a lot of the storylines, but it [Spider-Man
3] is open-ended in that Sony is obviously interested in
continuing the franchise.” Says Tobey. “From my point of view, if
there’s a story worth telling and the right team is in place to tell
it, I would be interested. Bu I’m not going to make it just to make
it.”
© John Millar, Film Review |
