Andrew Garfield Says He Struggled With Spider-Man

Andrew Garfield was the second actor to bring Spider-Man to the cinema, but his time as Marvel’s web-slinger was cut short.

After 2010’s Amazing Spider-Man and 2014’s Amazing Spider-Man 2, Sony made a deal with Marvel Studios to share the film right to Spider-Man. Doing so allows Spider-Man to appear in Marvel Cinematic Universe films, and for members of the Avengers, like Iron Man, to pop up in Spider-Man movies.

However, bringing Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe meant recasting the role. Garfield was out, replaced by Tom Holland as a teenage Peter Parker.

Speaking to The Wrap, Garfield reveals that he wasn’t at all broken up about losing his Spider-Man role. After doing dark dramas like The Social Network and Never Let Me Go, Garfield never quite felt like he fit into Spider-Man’s spandex, saying the job involved “a different set of values and a different hierarchy of priorities. And we all know what those are. I struggled with that. I wasn’t having the total experience that I remembered having.”

Garfield goes on to says he felt overcommitted to a role that didn’t demand so much dedication, which is why he was happy to find a new role in Martin Scorcese’s Silence. “What I realized is that I can’t help but give my full self to something,” he said. “I can end up pouring myself into a bucket with a hole in it. I knew that with Martin Scorsese, he creates a container from the moment he sends you three boxes of research. By the time you show up on set, there are no leaks, and you can just inhabit the character’s journey.”

Sounds like the agreement between Sony and Marvel for Spider-Man worked out well for Garfield in the end. We’ll see how Garfield fares as Silence enters the field for Academy Award attention in 2016.

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Spider-Man will return to the big screen, played by Tom Holland, in Spider-Man: Homecoming, opening in theaters on July 7, 2017.