Martin Sheen talks Spider-Man

Martin Sheen has spoken exclusively to Total Film about working with Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man .

The acting legend, who plays Uncle Ben to Garfield's Peter Parker, told us that he predicts the young Brit will become "a huge star."

When we drew a connection between the well-known spiritual, political and social aspects of his famous roles and Marvel's moral compass Uncle Ben, Sheen responded: "It's true. To be honest with you, I hadn't any clue about Spider-Man."

"I was on a plane one time, a couple of years ago, and the guy next to me was watching the film [ Spider-Man 2 ] and I was just looking at it, without the earphones thinking, 'I don't have a clue.'

"I'd never read the comic books. But I adore Tobey Maguire and he was up against this guy who had these chains coming out of his back [ Dr Octopus ].

"I didn't know who Uncle Ben was, though Cliff Robertson played the part. I knew that."

Sheen also told us how TF favourite Andrew Garfield was shaping up as Peter Parker.

"He's quite the marvel, a very fine actor. He's a lovely guy, very disciplined, very focused.

"He called me up and said, 'This is Andrew Garfield' and I said, 'Who?' and he said, 'Uh, we're in the movie together...' and I said, 'Yeah, what part do you play?' and he said, 'Uh, I play your nephew!' I liked him instantly.

"We had a wonderful lunch and laughed and joked and he said, "Just feel free to bring whatever you like" and I said, "absolutely." The guy who's directing takes a beating because his last name is Webb! But he's lovely."

Questioned about how Garfield was handling the physical side of the role, Sheen said: "He's very athletic, he's in great shape. He plays basketball and he works out every day. He's fit. Very wiry, thin, tall, very physically focused.

"He works in a very organic way - he loves accidents, when something happens in a scene that causes him to do something else. I went through a couple of very emotional scenes and he was right there, focused .

"And he was the same off camera. He didn't slack off. No, sir! He was equally emotional off camera. Very impressive. He's going to be a huge star."

The Amazing Spider-Man is due to hit cinemas on 4 July 2012.

For more from Martin Sheen, get the new issue of Total Film Magazine, which hits newsstands on Thursday March 17th.

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