Andrew Garfield will soon light up the big screen as “The Amazing Spider-Man” and the 27-year-old actor said stepping into the shoes of his childhood hero means an incredible deal to him — so much so that the attention he’s already receiving for the role makes him feel “overwhelmed and scared.”
“I don’t take it lightly. I wish I could, but I don’t,” Andrew told Access Hollywood’s Scott “Movie” Mantz of playing the beloved web-slinger, during an interview at the 2011 Comic-Con in San Diego, Calif., on Friday. “This character’s meant so much to me since I was 2 years old and I had my first Halloween and I wore my first Spider-Man costume.
“Ever since I saw him in the comics through New York City, I was mesmerized,” he continued. “And he’s affected my life in every different period I’ve gone through.”
The former “The Social Network” star said he became immediately aware of the gravity of the role as he donned Spider-Man’s iconic red and blue suit for the first time.
“As soon as I put on the suit for the camera test in this movie, I felt that weight — but much like I feel Peter Parker feels it too,” he told Scott, recalling the famous line from 2002’s “Spider-Man” (starring Tobey Maguire), “With great power comes great responsibility.” “I just felt like that was part and parcel of the job.
“Let me just put it this way,” Andrew explained. “It was much more fun watching Tobey do it than it was doing it myself!”
The charming actor is acutely aware that he’s not the only fan who has been inspired by the superhero for most of his young life, and said he worked tirelessly to explore all aspects of the “fascinating” character, especially Spider-Man’s physicality, so as not to disappoint his fellow comic book fans.
“I’m so exited to be assuming this symbol that is more than me, more than you — it’s everybody’s, and I feel so lucky and privileged to be able to explore what that is,” he told Scott. “I wanted to make something very authentic, imagining what it would be like to have spider DNA in your body.”
Catch Andrew, along with Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans and Denis Leary, when “The Amazing Spider-Man” hits theaters in July 2012.
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