The studio took some convincing to cast you in the lead role. How do you feel about that?

I wasn't surprised that I had to do a lot of work to get the part. Sam Raimi and I did a screen test which convinced the studio to hire me, and they were very supportive once I got the role.

Was your costume complicated?

The whole thing was a big deal. I had a body cast and computer scans and they covered my whole body in a plaster cast. It took hours to do different sections of my body and then afterwards they peel it all off – that rips out lots of your body hair when they do that and it was really painful! But it was worth it, especially when I’d be walking onto the set in the costume and people would do double-takes and call me Spider-Man!

How hard was it physically?

I had to work out six days a week up to four hours a day for five months. A combination of yoga, gymnastics, weight training, martial arts, and some other stuff. I had a nutritionist and I was eating a very specific diet. In the beginning, I wanted to do some of my own stunts but after a while I just accepted that there was a line to be drawn between what I could do and what I couldn't. There were certain things that would have taken the abilities of a seasoned gymnast and others where you just had to leave it to CGI.

Do you have a favourite scene in the film?

Yeah. The kissing scene where I'm hanging upside down in the rain and Kirsten peels down my mask to kiss me on the mouth. It comes off as sexy, romantic, and sweet and you see the character within the superhero as he gets vulnerable with somebody. It was a tough scene to do, though. Because of all the water pouring down I couldn't breathe - the rain was pouring up my nose. Then she was kissing me and I couldn't breathe out of my mouth! So, I had to hold my breath while I was kissing her. I would sneak little breaths out of the corner of my mouth - it was still nice!

You're signed up to play Spider-Man in two more films - any pressure?

I don't really feel any pressure. Director Sam Raimi is the perfect choice to protect the spirit of Spider-Man because he's a fan. We did our best to please everybody and not just the die-hard Spider-Man fans, and I think we've done a good job.