The July 25th issue of Entertainment weekly will sport Tobey Maguire on its cover, and a
Seabiscuit interview inside. Of course, there is always something about Spider-Man 2 whenever the guy gets interviewed, so you won't be disappointed by an "all horsey" issue...
This summer, Tobey Maguire trades in his slinky ''Spider-Man'' suit for a set of racing silks to star as real-life jockey Red Pollard in the Gary Ross-directed ''Seabiscuit.'' Adapted from Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling book about the thoroughbred champion, the $86 million movie, opening July 25, is clearly designed more for Oscar voters than popcorn munchers. But in a season filled with second-rate sequels and oversize comic-book heroes, Universal's Depression-era drama could end up being that rarest of pleasures: a serious summer flick that rakes it in at the box office. Which would make 28-year-old Maguire, once again, the summer superhero.
Maguire's new status as a bankable Hollywood star doesn't surprise Ross, who directed him in 1998's ''Pleasantville'' and compares him to Hoffman and Pacino. Ross wrote the part of ''Seabiscuit'''s troubled jockey Pollard specifically for Maguire. ''It was flattering to think that he was writing with me in mind,'' says the actor. ''Gary knows me well, and I think he wrote it to my strengths.'' Which would be? ''Well, you know, being...resilient, a tough survivor, having his guard up a bit but being capable of being open as well.'' Ross concurs: ''He embodies all the contradictions that are inherent in Red Pollard, a prizefighter who carried a worn-out copy of Shakespeare in his pocket. Tobey is a gentle soul who is unbelievably tough.''
His spate of directors over the years since are inclined to agree. ''He's not your prototypical action-handsome-hero guy,'' says John Patterson, who directed Maguire in the 1996 made-for-TV movie ''Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story.'' ''He's got something else going on. He's highly intelligent and thoughtful.'' Adds director Curtis Hanson, who worked with Maguire in perhaps his most lauded role, playing the troubled James Leer in 2000's ''Wonder Boys'': ''Tobey is very serious about his work and very smart about his career path. In Pittsburgh [where 'Wonder Boys' was filming], he was already plotting how to get the part in 'Spider-Man.' He loved the character, knew what he could do with it and what it could do for him. If Tobey were a racehorse, his name might be Premeditated. He's in it for the long run.''
Indeed, Maguire doesn't pretend to be overwhelmed by his sudden fame: ''I had an idea of it, and I chose it and pretty much it's okay. I'm pretty impenetrable about boundaries.'' He continues: ''And I always have been. I saw a clip that made me laugh -- I was 17 and did a TV show, and there was this on-camera interview and I was sitting there saying 'Well, you know, I'm just here to do my job, and I just work hard and do the best that I can.' I was 17, and I sounded virtually the same as I do now.''
Maguire brought that same kind of single-mindedness to his role in ''Seabiscuit.'' Between the shooting of that film, for which he shed about 20 pounds, and ''Spider-Man 2,'' for which he had to bulk up again, Maguire knows a ''frightening amount about training and how to achieve certain results.'' And while he already had some riding experience thanks to his role in 1999's ''Ride With the Devil,'' he needed to concentrate on getting ''jockey'' lean. So for two months, six days a week, four hours a day, he worked out under the eye of jockey Chris McCarron, conditioning himself on a machine called the Equicizer. ''Tobey's a perfectionist,'' notes Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, who costars as famed rider George Woolf. ''For seven months, he became a jockey.''
To hear others tell it, it was also around this time that Maguire became a bit of an egoist. As he was finishing up ''Seabiscuit,'' Sony's ''Spider-Man 2'' was entering preproduction. The actor was tired, an old back injury was flaring up, and he asked the studio to rearrange the movie's shooting schedule to accommodate him. The studio made it easier on him than he'd anticipated. A couple of days later, they replaced him with ''The Good Girl'''s Jake Gyllenhaal.
And a couple of more days later... Maguire suddenly developed second thoughts. In stepped Ron Meyer, the president of Universal and, coincidentally, the father of Maguire's current girlfriend, Jennifer. Meyer reportedly was crucial in helping the actor make amends with the studio, and Spidey was back in business.
Weeks later, even Maguire seems unclear on what happened. He claims his riding duties on ''Seabiscuit'' didn't cause his back to act up. ''For whatever reason,'' he says, ''because of my particular thing, the bent-over posture [on a horse] opens up my inflamed area. When you get up into a good gallop, it's not so bad.'' Maguire also insists he wasn't trying to dodge his responsibilities (he's contractually obligated to three ''Spider-Mans''). ''I was never trying not to do ['Spider-Man 2'],'' he says, choosing his words more carefully than usual. ''There was some miscommunication, some misunderstanding, and I didn't communicate as...um...as early and as thoroughly as I should have.'' But, he adds, ''it's all water under the bridge, the vibe is great, and we're all having fun.''
''Spider-Man 2'' films until October, and in the meantime, Maguire is keeping busy with his production company, whose projects include Spike Lee's ''25th Hour'' and the upcoming ''Whatever We Do'' (starring Robert Downey Jr.). Which doesn't leave Maguire much time to enjoy his newfound wealth and status -- let alone take a long-needed vacation. ''Actually, I'm trying to force myself into taking downtime, because [otherwise] I'll work all the time,'' he says. But he has no complaints. ''I love working. There are people who come from much more difficult circumstances doing much more important things...'' He pauses. ''You know what? I'm just making movies.''
(This is an online-only excerpt from the cover story of Entertainment Weekly's July 25, 2003, issue.)