Andrew Garfield – those of you still scratching your heads are now officially beyond help – has, at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, spoken further on his casting in Sony’s upcoming Spider-Man reboot.
With dramatic double-bill The Social Network and Never Let Me Go due for release in the next few months, Garfied will begin filming on Marc Webb’s Spider-Man this December.
Voicing his enthusiasm for the character, a role he has been indirectly preparing for since the age of four, the actor explains:
His youth, his relatability, his struggle. He was just this skinny boy. He was a skinny boy who felt stronger on the inside than he looked on the outside, and I related to it immediately, and it stayed with me as I grew up.
Every single generation of the comic, the cartoons and the movies, it all means a great deal to me. It was always something that gave me hope as a skinny little kid whose sense of injustice about the world didn’t match his sense of strength about his body.
I found it so inspiring and uplifting and reassuring. To be a part of that mythology and that legacy is a true honor.
While the 27 year old actor’s boyish enthusiasm and thespian filmography may stand him in good stead for the role of Peter Parker, before the actor can take on the alter-ego of Spider-Man Garfield accepts he will have to undergo a certain level of training.
We’re just talking about where we want to go with it and what kind of body shape it should be. What the skill set should be. I know I’m going to be doing a lot of flexibility training and a lot of strength training, because I have to swing and stuff. I’m just guessing, but it’s all kind of early stages.
It will certainly be interesting to see how Garfield’s approach to the character differs from that of your ex friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man Tobey Maguire. With Webb reportedly taking the franchise in a – predictably – grittier direction than Raimi had previously, it is possible that Garfield may find himself spending more time in the costume than his CGI-happy predecessor.
As for the threat to Garfield’s treasured anonymity, the actor remains determined to avoid the call of celebrity.
I’ll do everything I can to avoid it, I think, by not associating myself as a brand, just by associating myself as an actor and not trying or pretending to be anything else. I’m just a performer who plays roles. I don’t want to be a celebrity. I don’t want to be famous. I just want to have a nice, fun life, creating things that I want to create.
Spider-Man is currently penciled in for a July 3rd, 2010 release in both 2D and 3D.
Yahoo had it first.
