Andrew Garfield on The Amazing Spider-Man: interview

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The Amazing Spider-Man is out today, and to mark the occasion, here’s the final instalment in our series of interviews, this one with Spidey himself, Andrew Garfield.

About to be propelled from valued character actor to global superstar, Garfield – the Brit-accented babyface best known thus far for The Social Network and Never Let Me Go – was greeted with a largely positive response when he was announced as the new Peter Parker.

The 28-year-old might be some 11 years older than the teen he plays on screen, but his wiry frame, smart quipping, unforced humility and luxuriant shock of hair make him an ideal screen foil for the iconic comic-book character.

We caught up with Garfield at Sony’s press conference in Cancun, where he spoke casually about carrying a reinvented blockbuster on his shoulders.

"There’s something very, very natural, in terms of the cause and effect, that would happen. And there’s something human and funny and dark to explore in there. There’s a nice undercurrent to that which is kind of joyful in a dark way. I think we all understand.

“Any one of us who experienced a bully in the workplace, in our lives, in our families, in school, we’ve all imagined what we’d like to do to that person, and this is a kid who gets to act that out.

“There’s so much fun to be had with that, and of course it’s dangerous. There’s a very dangerous element to that, that we explore as well.”

The Amazing Spider-Man is out now.

Read our film review of The Amazing Spider-Man.

Read our Amazing Spider-Man interview with Emma Stone.

Read our Amazing Spider-Man interview with Rhys Ifans.

Read our Amazing Spider-Man interview with Marc Webb.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

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