"The heads of the studio, the director and the producer called me upstairs and sprung it on me," he revealed while talking about hearing the news that he'd won the role of Spider-Man after a day of promoting The Social Network. "They were all there with glasses of champagne and smiles and tears. It was a really generous way of telling me."
We all know how much he cares about the character at this point, but it seems he's also a fan of the movies which starred Tobey Maguire in the title role:
"The symbol of Spider-Man means such a great deal to me since I was five years old. I love the Spider-Man films so much; they're the greatest."
"I've been a massive fan and it all means a great deal to me. It feels like a legacy that I'm just gonna be another part of. I was so surprised when I found out because I could never imagine a childhood dream coming to life. That's not something that's ever gonna happen in reality...I'm still in denial about it."
"I think the material is elevated and it's just as meaningful and just as important as Shakespeare," he added when pressed for more of his thoughts on the character.
"One of the things about the comic book is it's a mythology so it's storytelling derived from the Greeks, derived from Shakespeare."