“I didn’t grow up with comic books, I’m not gonna lie,” admitted “Amazing Spider-Man” star Emma Stone when I caught up with her at WonderCon over the weekend. “I really, really wish that I did, because when you come to conventions you really wanna say that you [did].”
But I was happy she didn’t, because I find it annoying when actors fabricate a “geeky” persona just to appease fanboys. And who really cares whether she grew up reading “Spider-Man” or not? It’s a ridiculous “prerequisite” to begin with! What’s important is that Stone is a good actress, and (in the estimation of many) a terrific choice for the role of Peter Parker’s high school sweetheart Gwen Stacy in the upcoming reboot.
And anyway, she did her research.
“I was learning the story of Gwen Stacy before I auditioned,” she told me. “And then once I was cast, I was like, ‘oh my god, there’s 50 years worth of stuff to get through!'”
Also stopping by for a brief chat was director Marc Webb (“500 Days of Summer”), who assured us fans would be very happy with Andrew Garfield’s portrayal of the title character.
“Andrew cared so much about Peter Parker and Spider-Man that it became obvious,” said Webb. “And he’s an actor that has such emotional range – he can be deep and he can be funny.”
You can check out the full chat above…
“The Amazing Spider-Man” hits theaters on July 3.
Follow me on Twitter @HitFixChris