Tobey Maguire on Lookalike Elijah Wood, Tropic Thunder, & Bully Maguire

Tobey Maguire did an extensive AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on Reddit to promote the release of Babylon. Maguire answered fan questions about everything from his tenure as Spider-Man to his most iconic (fake) film from Tropic Thunder, titled Satan’s Alley.

On the topic of Spider-Man, Maguire had plenty of tidbits for fans of his portrayal. The actor said he has both a red and a black Spider-Man suit still, which he refers to as “my PJs.” He was also asked about which of his fellow Spider-Man actors — Andrew Garfield or Tom Holland — he prefers, which he declined to answer, saying, “I love both those guys so much.“

In a similar vein, Maguire confirmed that he knows of the “Bully Maguire” meme, which refers to video edits that put the Venom-influenced Peter Parker from Spider-Man 3 into various comical situations. Though he said he’s fairly neutral on the memes about him, Maguire specifically called this particular trend “a funny discovery.“

Maguire provided a story about how he was once mistaken for Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood. He signed an autograph for the fan, as she was incredibly excited, saying, “I didn’t want to disappoint her by telling her I wasn’t Elijah.“

Speaking on fan experiences, Maguire was quite positive and went into how he feels about meeting fans. Maguire replied, “I’ve had some funny and touching experiences from spontaneous encounters in public and someone being surprised to sharing how I’ve helped them through hard times. It’s sweet, and I feel grateful. Especially with kids, it’s almost like magic, it’s amazing to see their eyes light up.“

Though his role in the film was brief, Maguire did speak about his part in Tropic Thunder. At the beginning of the film, parody trailers for various fake films are shown, including one called Satan’s Alley. Maguire plays himself as he is playing a priest who is in love with another priest, played by fellow Marvel alum Robert Downey Jr. in the role of actor Kirk Lazarus.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuziQsUrbeM

Maguire mentions meeting Kate Winslet once, who referred to this part as the actor’s “crowning achievement.” To quote Maguire, “At first I was flattered, then I was scratching my head wondering if that was a compliment or not. So maybe that?“

Maguire can currently be seen in Babylon, where he plays mob boss James McKay. The film is currently playing in theaters.