30 Astonishing Facts We Bet You Didn’t Know About Tobey Maguire

Tobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire, the world renowned actor, a fan-favorite Spider Man, has two Saturn Awards to his name, along with a number of nominations for the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe Awards. Here are some interesting things to know about the American actor and producer:

1. In the year 2012, he established his own production company, Material Pictures, which secured independent financing in 2013 to help it produce more feature films.
2. His breakthrough movie "Spider-Man" in the year 2002, is the first film in the history of Hollywood, to have grossed $100 million in the opening weekend alone.
3. Even before the screen test for the role of Spider-Man, Maguire went through training for a short while, resulting in him bulking up for the test. It was after he got the role, that he underwent strict exercise regimen.
4. Two of his half brothers - Weston Epp and Jopaul Van Epp make a cameo appearance as boys wearing masks in the train scene in his movie "Spider-Man 2."
5. Since 1992, he has been a vegan/vegetarian. In the year 2002, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) voted him as the World's Sexiest Vegetarian.
6. During his first audition for the movie "This Boy's Life" he first read the script for the part of Toby. However, Director Michael Caton-Jones, was not convinced with him for the role. Leonardo DiCaprio, who was offered the said role, is also a close friend of Maguire and wanted him to be a part of the film. Hence, DiCaprio got him the role of Chuck Bolger.
7. To acquire the bumped-up physique for his titular role in "Spider-Man," Maguire underwent a strict five-month regimen of exercise, weight training and martial arts six times a week, as well as eating a high protein meal four to six times a day.
8. During the mid-1990s, though working steadily, he became involved in the hard-partying lifestyle of some of his fellow actors. In the year 1995, he sought help for a drinking problem from Alcoholics Anonymous; he has been sober ever since.
9. Before "Spider-Man," he was originally set to play the role of Jake Hoyt in the 2001 movie "Training Day," alongside Denzel Washington. In preparation for the role, he went through aggressive training for two months with narcotic officers, weapons training, and put on a lot of muscle. However, he lost the role to Ethan Hawke.
10. It was reported that his "Spider-Man" co-star Kirsten Dunst decide to audition for the role of Mary Jane Watson in the movie, after learning that Maguire had been cast. However, she earned the role a month before shooting in an audition in Berlin.
    
11. In 2008, he made a cameo appearance in the action comedy film "Tropic Thunder" as a gay 18th century monk. He was actually a last minute replacement for the role. Due to previously-scheduled commitments, he was only available for two hours to film his scenes.
12. Initially, he wanted to be a chef, but he took up acting after his mother offered him $100 to take drama rather than home economics in high school.
13. In the 2004 movie "Spider-Man 2," the scene in which Peter flips over an oncoming car, was actually performed by Maguire himself. There was also a version with his stunt double performing it, but Sam Raimi thought Maguire's looked more natural so he used his instead.
14. He along with his co-star and best friend, filed a lawsuit over their 2001 movie "Don's Plum," which resulted in the film banned from showing commercially in the United States or Canada.
15. In the movie "Spider-Man," in the scene in which he catches Mary Jane's lunch on the tray, reportedly had no CGI involved. It took Maguire around 156 takes to perform the stunt exactly as seen, with the help of a sticky substance that kept the tray planted on his hand.
16. He met Jennifer Meyer, a jewelry designer, in the sets of "Seabiscuit." The duo started dating, and announced their engagement in April 2006. On September 3, 2007, the couple married in a secret ceremony attended by close friends in Kona, Hawaii.
17. In 2006, he starred in his first villainous role as Corporal Patrick Tully opposite George Clooney and Cate Blanchett in Steven Soderbergh's "The Good German," based on the Joseph Kanon novel of the same name.
18. Though famous for his role as Spider-Man / Peter Parker, Maguire admitted in an interview that he has never even touched a Spider-Man comic book, and that he had never ever wanted to read them too. It was reported that he accepted the role, because he liked the script.
19. Following his role as Red Pollard in the 2003 movie "Seabiscuit," he had to almost give up the "Spider-Man" franchise, due to severe back pain, from his dramatic decrease in calorie intake, followed with rapid increase in weight. In fact, Jake Gyllenhaal was already in talks to replace him and had already begun preparation. However, he managed to finish "Spider-Man 2" and "Spider-Man 3."
20. During the filming of "Spider-Man", when two studio executives were shown shots of the computer generated Spider-Man, they believed it was actually Maguire performing the stunts, rather than CGI.
    
21. He has played in the World Series of Poker. On October 27, 2004, he won the Phil Hellmuth Poker Invitational at the Hollywood Park Casino in Los Angeles, taking a first prize of $95,480.
22. He had two children with his ex-wife Jennifer Meyer - a daughter - Ruby Sweetheart Maguire, born in November 2006, and a son - Otis Tobias Maguire, born in May 2009.
23. In the 2002 movie "Spider-Man," during the fight between the Green Goblin and Spider-Man near the end, Willem Dafoe accidentally clipped Maguire on the chin with one blow.
24. When Producer Gail Katz' pitched her idea for the movie "Pawn Sacrifice" Maguire, he was immediately intrigued. After some initial research, he signed on not only to star as Fischer but also to produce, and he and Katz began to develop the script together and it was Maguire who proposed approaching it like a classic sports story.
25. His performance as Spider-Man earned him great reviews such as Mark Caro of the Chicago Tribune wrote that "with his big, round, soulful eyes, Maguire always has been able to convey a sense of wonder, and his instinct for understatement also serves him well here."
26. In 1995, he requested director Allan Moyle to release him from his part in the movie "Empire Records." Moyle agreed, and all of Maguire's scenes were deleted from the final film.
27. In preparation for his role as "Spider-Man," Maguire along with Willem Dafoe incorporated a Yoga technique called Ashtanga into their training regimens. "Ashtanga" actually translates into English as "eight-legged," like a spider.
28. Maguire got the lead role as Homer Wells, in the 1999 movie "The Cider House Rules," after his best friend Leonardo DiCaprio turned it down.
29. He announced his separation from his wife Jennifer Meyer on October 18, 2016, after a successful marriage of nine years. In 2017, the duo were officially divorced.
30. James Franco once joked about Maguire's "frog-like" features on the sets of "Spider-Man," following which the latter was reportedly genuinely upset. This is said to have created friction between the two actors that led to the existing rivalry between them now - a rivalry that was admitted to by Maguire in interviews since the Spider-Man franchise.
    
31. Tobey Maguire Net Worth: $75 Million