Actors often have to get inside the head of a character to truly pull off a believable performance.
Andrew Garfield is so far inside the head of Spider-Man he thinks the superhero is a “neurotic, self-doubting Jew” and possibly the son of God.
“Spider-Man is neurotic,” Garfield, a U.S.-British actor who was brought up Jewish, told Time Out. “He never feels like he’s doing enough. And Peter suffers from self-doubt. He ums and ahs about his future because he’s neurotic. He’s Jewish. It’s a defining feature.”
Peter Parker might suffer from self-doubt and neuroticism because he’s a high school kid, got bit by a spider and obtained super human abilities, and watched his uncle die because he didn’t want to get involved. Cut the kid some slack.
Garfield stated that he’s half-Jewish, which I suppose is better than the usual “I have a ton of friends who are Jewish”, and then followed up his stereotyping of a fictional character by comparing him to Jesus.
But wait a second. Spidey might not be your run-of-the-mill Jewish boy. The “overthinker,” adds the actor, might just be the Jew who became the Christian messiah. “He is misunderstood, like Jesus,” says Garfield. “I don’t mind the Jesus parallel for Spider-Man. Jesus is an awesome guy. When Pontius Pilate said: ‘They say you’re the son of God. If you’re the son of God tell me,’ Jesus was like: ‘I know who I am, bitch.'” Backtracking a bit, Garfield says Peter Parker isn’t quite as secure in his identity as that “awesome guy” who was nailed to a cross.
That Christ as an awesome guy, there is no disputing that, but what about the fact that both complete works of fiction.
I’m kidding. I’m kidding. I have a ton of friends who were in the Bible.
Spider-Man star says superhero is a ‘neurotic, self-doubting’ Jew [Haaretz]