The man behind the mask
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He swings from high-rises and crawls up and down buildings. As Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire tries to live the experience woven by special effects.
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PHOTO: AP
REVEALING A BLACK SIDE: Tobey Maguire.
Tobey Maguire is synonymous with Spider-Man. He has played the Marvel Comics superhero onscreen in two earlier films and is also in the latest sequel, `Spider-Man 3.' Excerpts from an interview:
There has always been a strong link between Peter Parker and his enemies. What is the relationship this time with Venom and Sandman?
It's a little different but I'm still connected to them in terms of the story. I don't want to give too much away about the storylines, but it's not the same. It's not a father figure or a mentor, it's a different angle.
So Peter doesn't need a role model anymore?
Well, first of all he's got Aunt May. I wouldn't call her a role model but I would say she is the person he talks to for guidance and wisdom. So she is always there and Uncle Ben is always there in his heart.
Who is the `Aunt May' in your life?
I have different family and friends who I trust and I appreciate their support and wisdom.
The Spider-Man films are full of special effects, so during production you work quite extensively with green screens. Is it strange when you finally see yourself in the finished film?
It's great. It's kind of cool because I'm approaching it from inside of it, trying to live the experience. I'm aware of what we are going for all the time. I'll watch the animatics and look at the storyboards so I have a sense of it, but of course it's always different when you see the final cut with the animation and the music.
Has your working relationship with Sam Raimi changed over the years?
He's pretty inclusive of me in the process. I'm curious and anxious to see things but only where I can be useful in lending an idea. Sam gathers everybody's thoughts and ideas and considers them and tries to make his own best choices.
Throughout your career, you have portrayed a variety of characters in various time periods. Does this affect your own personality?
Definitely. You dig into people. You research the time period; what is happening socially and politically.
I have to investigate the mood and climate; who is this person and how would he be reacting to the world and how the world would be reacting to him...
You learn about your own true direction or you learn about forgiveness, which is one of the themes in this movie...
You've said in the past that you do yoga. How important is that to you?
I like exercise in general and yoga has been a recurring thing in my life. I appreciate certain principles behind it and the actual physical act of it as well.
I'm not particularly advanced. I've had periods in my life when I was more into it as my primary athletic kind of exercise.
Four or five years ago I was practising four to six days a week for about a year and a half. I was getting much more into it. I do it now, but more casually.
Your daughter is obviously still a baby but one day you will be able to sit her down and say `look at these films, Daddy was Spider-Man!'
(Laughs) Won't that be cool. But it will be a while yet, she's only a baby.
(Courtesy Sony Pictures)
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