Andrew Garfield recently said he was pushing for Spider-Man to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe before his time playing the web-slinger came to an end, and the actor opened up quite a bit about his Spidey experience during a conversation with Zaki's Corner. Garfield was asked what did he learn from being Spider-Man. His response?
Well, nothing, because I was never Spider-Man. Because Spider-Man's a fictional character. He's not real. [laughs] You know what's funny, to give you the vulnerable answer, I thought I was going to be Spider-Man, you know? I went into it going…ego shit came in. It's like, "Okay, here it is. I'm f***ing Spider-Man. I f***ing made it." All that shit. [laughs] I didn't actually make it. I was never Spider-Man.
I was the actor that I am. The person that I am. Struggling with trying to match up with something that I'd elevated so high in my mind. Elevated beyond what I could attain, what I could achieve. The great thing is, that's what Peter Parker was doing as well. Peter Parker created this symbol that he couldn't live up to. It was never enough. He never felt enough, and I never felt enough. I never felt like I was able to do enough. And I couldn't rescue those films…even though I didn't sleep. [laughs]
And I wanted to…not to say that I needed to rescue those films, but I couldn't make them as deep and soulful and…life-giving as I could ever dream. And I'm never gonna be able to do that, with any film. It was especially difficult in that situation because…well, just because. And it was especially important because that character has always meant so much to me, and you saw that if you saw the Comic Con thing, which, thank you for reminding me about that.
It sounds like Andrew Garfield was trying to be careful with his answer, however the actor still seems pretty bummed that he couldn't do more for the franchise. And while I know some will say he needs to get over it, it's not like he's the one who brought THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN movies up, and I definitely don't think he's to blame for the negative reviews they received. I wasn't sold on Garfield as Peter Parker, but he made a great Spider-Man, and I think he's a talented actor who still has a very bright future ahead of him.
Andrew Garfield can be seen next starring alongside Michael Shannon and Laura Dern in Ramin Bahrani's 99 HOMES on September 25, 2015, while Tom Holland will make his debut as the new Spider-Man in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, which is due in theaters on May 6, 2016.