Sony Pictures
Andrew Garfield discussed the "mysterious" universal appeal of Spider-Man
Spider-Man: Brand New Day likely exceeded even the studio’s wildest expectations, as it’s now the fourth-highest-grossing movie of all time — thus making the Spider-Man franchise in and of itself the second-highest-grossing movie franchise of all time, ahead of the likes of Star Wars, Harry Potter, and James Bond.
Speaking to BroBible’s Post Credit Podcast ahead of the release of his new movie The Uprising — hitting theaters in the United States on September 10 — Academy Award-winning actor Andrew Garfield, who portrayed Peter Parker in three Spider-Man films, detailed why he thinks the character is so enduring and his “mysterious” universal appeal.
The enduring universal appeal of Spider-Man and what it means to play such a beloved character
Eric Italiano, BroBible: You bring up Peter. I don’t know if you heard, but there’s a new SPIDER-MAN film out, and it’s making insane amounts of cash. The character seems to be more popular than ever. As of speaking, it is the fourth highest-grossing film of all time, and is now the second highest-grossing movie franchise of all time, behind only the MCU and ahead of Star Wars, Harry Potter, James Bond, and so on.
If you had to boil it down to one thing — what do you think it is about this character that makes him so enduring and so universal? And what does it mean to you that you had the chance to bring a character that means so much to so many people to life?
Andrew Garfield: It’s a humbling thing, for sure. It’s a strange thing to be part of the legacy of a character who is one of the most beloved characters in the history of fiction. Universally, as you say.
And it’s mysterious. There are a lot of reasons you could point to, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you exactly why. I don’t have the ultimate conclusion about why Spider-Man is this beloved figure. But I think there’s something about the everyman-ness of him. The humility. The hapless ordinariness of Peter Parker, combined with the extraordinariness that we all have — we all have some great gift to give the world. It’s an archetypal hero’s story that we can all somehow feel connected to.
And also, under the suit, it could be anybody. You don’t see skin colour, you don’t see gender, you don’t see race, you don’t see socioeconomic background. It does help, I think, that he’s a working-class kid. He feels eternally relatable.
I haven’t seen the film yet. I’m very, very excited to see it, and Tom is obviously such a great actor for that character.
EI: If they ever do a LOGAN version of Spider-Man, you’ve got the Old Man Peter look down right now.
Garfield’s latest film The Uprising will be hitting theaters on September 10. Alongside the two-time Best Actor nominee, The Uprising also stars Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Cosmo Jarvis, Thomasin McKenzie, Jonny Lee Miller, Woody Norman, and Katherine Waterston.
You can check out the official trailer for the latest film from The Bourne Supremacy, United 93, and Captain Phillips filmmaker Paul Greengrass below.