Andrew Garfield says Spider-Man broke his heart

Andrew Garfield has described the experience of his two Spider-Man films as heartbreaking. Photo/Supplied

It may have been his childhood dream to play the Marvel hero, but Andrew Garfield has revealed playing Spider-Man was a heartbreaking experience.

Talking with Amy Adams as part of Variety's Actors on Actors series, the two discussed playing iconic characters in superhero movies.

Garfield, who starred in The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012 and its sequel in 2014, revealed the disdain he feels for the experience now and how it was more about the product than serving the movie or character.

"There's something about being that young in that kind of machinery which I think is really dangerous.

"I was still young enough to struggle with the value system, I suppose, of corporate America really, it's a really corporate enterprise mostly.

Garfield was originally meant to be in three Spider-Man movies, but after the sequel underperformed at the box office, the franchise was cancelled.

The character has now been rebooted as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, played by Tom Holland. The character will next be seen in Homecoming, out next July.

Garfield complained the story and character "were not at the top of the priority list ... and I found that really, really tricky".

"I signed up to serve the story, and to serve this incredible character that I've been dressing as since I was three, and then it gets compromised and it breaks your heart. I got heartbroken a little bit to a certain degree."

Adams, who has played Lois Lane in the last two Superman movies, agreed saying:
"You're doing something in service of something. The character is serving the story or serving a canon as opposed to serving the character."

She said that it is a process you have to "mature through" and adapt to, and that having her daughter has helped her make better decisions.

She likened playing Lois to theatre, saying her in "theatre, roles get played time and time again with different interpretations", meaning it is hard to feel ownership of the characters.

Andrew Garfield will next be seen in Silence, out February 16.