Tobey Maguire was at the peak of his career when he portrayed the role of Marvel’s favorite web-slinging superhero, Peter Parker aka Spider-Man back in 2002. The American actor went on to play the role for 2 more movies which further added to his stardom and he became a trending name for fans and media at the time. However, after Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy came to an end, Maguire never rose to that kind of fame ever again despite being in the industry for over four decades.
According to sources, Tobey Maguire used to miss out on a lot of important opportunities because of his behavior and once was also cut from playing a role in the 2012 adventure drama film, Life of Pi.
Tobey Maguire was replaced in Life of Pi after the filming was already done
Tobey Maguire was all set to play the role of The Writer in Life of Pi and had also filmed his scenes for the movie. However, after the filming of the movie was completed, the director, Ang Lee felt that the stardom of Maguire was not appropriate for such a small role and therefore revealed he had to replace him with Rafe Spall. Lee said,
“I misjudged the situation. I underestimated the power of stars. I love Tobey. But it’s a small part. So when it’s a movie star sitting there, it captures attention. It didn’t really work out.”
The Great Gatsby star did not hold any grudges after being replaced in Life of Pi
Tobey Maguire first worked together with Ang Lee back in 1997 when he decided to portray the role of Paul Hood in The Ice Storm. Although Lee decided to replace the star in The Life of Pi, Tobey Maguire did not hold any grudges against the director and once opened up about being replaced by Rafe Spall. He said,
“I fully support Ang’s decision to go a different direction for this role in Life of Pi. Ang shared a lot of the film with me, and what I saw was absolutely beautiful.”
Also read: Spider-Man Star Tobey Maguire Reportedly Ended 9 Year Marriage Due to “Too Social” Ex-Wife
Life of Pi went on to receive 11 nominations at the Academy Awards that year and even won 4 of them. Ang Lee also went on to win the Academy Award for Best Director for Life of Pi.
Life of Pi is currently available for rent on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
Source: USA Today and The Hollywood Reporter
