In 2002, the first feature-length, American Spider-Man movie was released. The film, directed by Sam Raimi, was simply called Spider-Man, and it was a huge hit, earning over $800 million at the box office and becoming the highest-grossing superhero movie of all time (until it was surpassed by The Dark Knight in 2008). Since then, there have been seven more Spider-Man films released (with an eighth coming out soon), so it's pretty clear that Sam Raimi's film spawned a massive franchise.
A big reason for the film's success was the performance of its lead actor, Tobey Maguire, who played Peter Parker, a.k.a. the titular Spider-Man. A film critic for The Houston Chronicle wrote that after seeing the film, it would be hard to imagine anyone other than Maguire in the leading role. However, although Maguire played a kind and caring character in the film, there are some reports that Tobey Maguire was difficult to work with on set. He has also earned a bit of a reputation over the years as being one of the ruder celebrities in Hollywood. But did his behavior affect his relationship with the rest of the cast? Here's what we know about how well Tobey Maguire got along with several of his Spider-Man co-stars.
6 Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane Watson)
By all accounts, Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire got along with one another quite well. In fact, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dunst said that one of the main reasons she auditioned for the movie was because of Maguire's involvement. In the same interview, she said that she would have been happy to do a fourth Spider-Man film with Tobey, and she called the two of them "a team."
The two actors also briefly dated off-screen in between filming the first and second movies, and they were able to stay good friends after their breakup. In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Sam Raimi was asked about Dunst and Maguire working together after their breakup, and he said "They really like each other, I think, very much."
5 Willem Dafoe (Norman Osborne/Green Goblin)
It's not clear if Willem Dafoe and Tobey Maguire have much of a relationship offscreen, but there isn't any reason to believe they didn't get along on set. While they have not made any movies together since the Spider-Man trilogy, it's worth noting that Dafoe returned to film scenes for the second and third Spider-Man movies despite his character being killed off at the end of the first film. If Dafoe really did not like working with Maguire, he may not have come back for the final two films. There are many photos of two actors smiling together on the red carpet, looking like good friends, which suggests that they probably enjoyed working with one another quite a bit.
4 James Franco (Harry Osborne)
James Franco originally auditioned to play Peter Parker, but Tobey Maguire beat him out for the role, so it would not be unreasonable to assume that there was some bad blood between Franco and Maguire. James Franco also has a history of getting into arguments with his co-stars, and many actors have stopped working with him due to sexual misconduct allegations. However, it seems that Franco and Maguire actually got along quite well with one another on set. This behind the scenes footage shows Franco and Maguire having a great time together while filming Spider-Man 3.
3 J.K. Simmons (J. Jonah Jameson)
As with Willem Dafoe, there isn't too much to know about J.K. Simmons' relationship with Tobey Maguire. The two actors have not worked together since filming Spider-Man 3 nearly fifteen years ago. In 2008, Simmons mentioned that he spoke to Maguire about the possibility of making a fourth Spider-Man movie, so it seems like the two still got along at that point. In the same interview, Simmons also described a fourth Spider-Man film as "something that I want to do," so it seems fair to presume that he enjoyed his time on set.
2 Rosemary Harris (Aunt May Parker)
Rosemary Harris played Peter Parker's Aunt May in the Spider-Man films, and based on her chemistry with Tobey Maguire in the movies, it certainly seems like they got along. They have not done a film together since the Spider-Man trilogy, nor have they spoken about one another in any interviews, but the red carpet photographs from the Spider-Man 3 premiere make them look like quite good friends.
1 Cliff Robertson (Uncle Ben Parker)
Cliff Robertson played Uncle Ben in Spider-Man, and as with all of the other actors on this list, he never went on the record to say a bad word about Tobey Maguire. He seemed to quite enjoy working on the Spider-Man films, and he wrote on his personal website that "Since Spider-Man 1 and 2, I seem to have a whole new generation of fans. That in itself is a fine residual."
Therefore, while the reports that Tobey Maguire was hard to work with on the set of Spider-Man might still be true, it’s safe to say that he did not have a problem getting along with the rest of the main cast.