‘THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN’ (WonderCon Panel)
Marc Webb (Director) on Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man & Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy:
Webb briefly recapped a story of Garfield’s screen test that he couldn’t’ stop watching because of the layered performance. But beyond all of that, the ability to emotional depth, heartbreaking tragedy, and both spoken and physical comedy, why Garfield was the one out of an endless search was that he had a very unique gift as an actor.
“He is EMPHATIC about finding authenticity in emotional reality in a scene. He will not reach for jokes, or any other emotion that does not feel real or authentic. That is an enormous gift and a very difficult thing for an actor because they’re often asked to do things that are really crazy. When you have to react to a lizard that looks like a tennis ball it’s a tricky, very difficult piece of craft. He could do that and feel real and it was exceptional. That is a very very rare combination to find in an actor and it you become increasingly aware how rare it as you try to find it.He’s an exceptional craftsman in that regard and the ability to do humor is so crucial because it’s in the DNA of this character.”
“Emma brought us a level of humor and levity that Andrew really responded to [so much so that they’re dating in real life]. There was this immediate sense of lightness in the interaction and that tracks really beautifully on screen. When you have that you just want to spend time with them. There’s a spontaneity on the set and a real, and I don’t know how much Andrew did improvisation training but you could tell that Emma did because they were just [snaps fingers quickly] firing it off and that was REALLY cool to have in the heart of a very big, huge movie with a lot of visual effects, and a lot of pressure on a lot of days. Then you have this wistful spirits who are just snapping. That was a real joy to watch.”
I literally just died of joy !
GABIBI