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  1. Entertainment
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Martin Sheen talks Spider-Man

News
By Total Film published 14 March 2011

Exclusive! "Andrew Garfield is going to be a huge star."

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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 ].

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"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.

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"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.




To subscribe to Total Film Magazine, click here .

Total Film

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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