Years before Tom Holland's Spider-Man debut, the Marvel superhero whose story spawned multiple 21st century film franchises was played by this guy, Andrew Garfield.
I am joking, of course, as Andrew is a Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Tony Award winner who recently earned the second Oscar nomination of his career for Tick, Tick... Boom!
His leading role in 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man, opposite Emma Stone, is probably the one most of us remember when thinking back on Andrew's rise to global mega-fame. It came a decade after Tobey Maguire originated the part in 2002.
Well, call it fate, conscious manifestation, or good old-fashioned practice, but it sounds like Andrew was already preparing for Spider-Man while pursuing his undergraduate degree in the early 2000s.
To be clear, Andrew used to get stoned and recite Tobey's Spider-Man lines as a student at University of London's drama school. He recalled the preemptive rehearsal routine during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show.
"I would practice his lines in the mirror when I was in drama school," Andrew recalled. "I was very high at the time."
The Eyes of Tammy Faye star went on to note that his friend, Terry McGinnis — Bruce Wayne's fictional Batman successor in DC Comics? — would "crack up" over his private performances.
"[He] would look at me like, 'Yeah, you'll never play Spider-Man, Andy,'" said Andrew. "And then here we are."
Andrew, who recently made a cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home alongside Tobey, shared more about how the actor's legacy inspired him. It was actually Tobey signing on to No Way Home that encouraged Andrew to do the same.
"He's my Spider-Man," Andrew said. "I was like, 'Well, if Tobey's doing it, I've got to do it.'"
You can watch Andrew's interview here or in the clip above.
