An innocent but mature young Spiderman
Tobey
Maguire (born in 1975) is considered to be one of the greatest
actors of his generation due to his work in
Spiderman
and masterful performances in other films, including
two by director Ang Lee, the director of his first movie, who
said, “[He] has this combination of childish innocence
and a very old soul.” And about his acting another director
remarked, “Tobey doesn’t overstate. He just
states.”
Tobey, who from an early age, disliked
eating meat, reveals, “I couldn’t help thinking
about the connection between the animal and the food.”
And in describing his last non-vegetarian meal he says, “I
ate a cheeseburger with ham and suddenly had this vision—I
saw the animals that were used so I couldn’t stand there
and eat this stupid cheeseburger.” Thus, in 1992 Tobey
made a noble vow to become a vegetarian.
Then in 1994, he also gave up alcohol
and cigarettes—an extraordinary move for a nineteen year-old
film star who frequented Hollywood nightclubs. About this period
he recalls, “I had to make a decision. I could be a teenager
and do all the stupid things that go along with that or focus
on acting.”
Giving up meat and alcohol, however,
did not mean renouncing the pleasures of life for Tobey admits
that over the years he has spent a sizeable portion of his income
on fine dining, and he is especially fond of gourmet vegetarian
pizza and tofu: “I’m very particular about my tofu
because prepared the right way it can be very tasty.”
He even once shared a meal in a fine restaurant with a group
of fans when he found out they were vegetarian!
Before his
Spiderman
audition, Tobey did not exactly have an athletic
physique, and some journalists described him as “soft”
or “doughy.” Also, the producers of Spiderman were
impressed with his acting skills but were skeptical about his
ability to get his body into shape for the film’s title
role. Determined to prove them wrong, Tobey assembled a team
to prepare for the audition that included a personal trainer,
a martial-arts instructor, a gymnastics coach, a stunt man and
a yoga instructor.
Spiderman’s
producers, however, did not think he could develop adequate
muscle mass without eating meat and urged him to break his vegetarian
vow. But thankfully Tobey’s trainers knew better and put
him on an optimal diet of high-protein vitamin shakes, veggie
burgers and tofu. When his try-out came, Tobey performed impressively
in several fight scenes and then took off his shirt to reveal
his muscular physique. According to the director, “He
had become a sledgehammer of an action star.”
Regarding his personal nature, Tobey
once told an interviewer, “I might have some character
traits that some might see as innocent or naive. That’s
because I’ve discovered peace and happiness in my soul.”
And when Spiderman was released, a journalist asked Tobey what
superpowers he would like to possess, to which he replied, “A
while ago, I would have said ‘flying.’ Now it seems
trivial. I’d probably like to get above my physical self,
stay the same but in another dimension, a spiritual being. To
be able to get over the physical world, not to be bound to it
anymore like Keanu Reeves in Matrix,
that would be the coolest superpower.” (Please refer to
News #142 Cinema Scene) |