Spider-Man: No Way Home was a big deal for many. Seeing Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire return to the role of Spider-Man was a huge draw for audiences. However, Garfield says that he initially "sensed danger" when accepting the role at the young age of 26.
Garfield starred as Spider-Man in 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man and 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. His incarnation had a lot to live up to, as it was the first reboot since Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy wrapped up in 2008. Raimi's take on the character (alongside Maguire's performance) was huge, and expectations were mixed for a new take on the character. However, Spider-Man is always destined to be a huge role, no matter the circumstances. Garfield has attained great success since then, even being named one of TIME's 100 most influential people.
In an interview with GQ, Garfield discussed his thought process after initially taking on the iconic Spider-Man role. “I feel that about myself as a 26-year-old. I’m like, ‘Fuck, that was a lot to take on. It’s a shit-ton to take on,'" Garfield said. “And I wanted to take it on. I was ready. I was so up for it. It didn’t feel heavy. But I think there were elements that felt very… I sensed danger for myself, in terms of fame and exposure.”
Garfield went on to say that, though he was taking on a superhero role, he wanted to make sure that he would be able to do theater work. “Even as I took [The Amazing Spider-Man] on, I was like, ‘I wanna make sure I get to do Angels in America and Death of a Salesman in a few years’ time. I wanna be a theater actor first, because that feels evergreen," he said. "If I can do theater for the rest of my life to an audience of 50 people a night, I know that my life is going to be satisfying. That’s not me being glib — I really know that. If everything else fell away…I’d rent an apartment in London, and I can do theater.”
Garfield's theater work did continue, but his film presence has become a strong pull for audiences and critics alike. For instance, Garfield successfully nabbed an Oscar nomination for his role in Tick, Tick... Boom! He may have shot into superstardom because of his role as Spider-Man, but it's clear that Garfield's natural talent has kept him as a steadily working actor.
Though Garfield is currently taking a break from acting following his streak of successes in 2021, audiences can expect to see him back before long. There are rumors that he may return to the role of Spider-Man in the future, and, of course, there are probably plenty of non-superhero roles being offered to him. It's simply a matter of time before he hits the big screen again.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: GQ
