Tobey Maguire

Tobias Vincent Maguire, born June 27, 1975, is an American actor and film producer. He gained international stardom and critical acclaim for portraying the title superhero in Sam Raimi's film Spider-Man (2002) and its sequels Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007), a role he later reprised in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Throughout his career, Maguire has balanced leading roles in high-profile blockbusters with praised performances in independent dramas, while also working behind the scenes as a feature film producer.

Maguire was born in Santa Monica, California, to Wendy Brown and Vincent Maguire. His parents divorced when he was three years old, leading to a tough, transient childhood where he lived with various relatives and grew up poor. In sixth grade, he considered becoming a chef, but chose to enroll in a drama class after his mother offered him $100. Emotional strain from frequent relocations led Maguire to drop out of high school during his freshman year to pursue acting. In his teenage years, he struggled with drug abuse and alcoholism, achieving complete sobriety at age 19.

Maguire made his feature film debut as an extra in The Wizard (1989) and starred in the short-lived television series Great Scott! in 1992. During the late 1980s, he befriended fellow child actor Leonardo DiCaprio while auditioning for similar roles, leading to appearances alongside DiCaprio in the television series Parenthood and the feature film This Boy's Life (1993). Seeking projects that reduced direct competition with DiCaprio, Maguire earned critical recognition for his performance as Paul Hood in Ang Lee's 1997 film The Ice Storm. This success led to prominent roles in films such as Pleasantville, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Cider House Rules, Ride with the Devil, Wonder Boys, and Cats & Dogs.

International fame arrived in 2002 with Spider-Man. He expanded his career by starring as jockey Red Pollard in the drama Seabiscuit (2003)—for which he was also an executive producer—and returning for Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. He played a villainous role in Steven Soderbergh's The Good German (2006). For his performance as a soldier dealing with PTSD in Jim Sheridan's war drama Brothers (2009), Maguire earned critical acclaim and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama.

In addition to acting, Maguire established a career as a producer. He produced 25th Hour (2002) and founded his own production company, Material Pictures, in 2012. Under his company, he co-produced and starred in Pawn Sacrifice (2014) as American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer. Maguire also reunited with DiCaprio to play narrator Nick Carraway in Baz Luhrmann's remake of The Great Gatsby (2013). His subsequent work includes voicing adult Tim Templeton in the animated movie The Boss Baby (2017), executive producing and acting in Damien Chazelle's ensemble film Babylon (2022), and reprising his signature superhero role in Spider-Man: No Way Home.