Whatever Happened To The Cast Of The Amazing Spider-Man Franchise?

Andrew Garfield had his international breakout roles in the 2010 films "Never Let Me Go" and "The Social Network." So, he had just reached a new level of success in his career when he signed on to play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in "The Amazing Spider-Man" franchise. When he left the web-slinger behind in 2014, Garfield's career continued to reach new heights. He largely focused on film roles, notably playing Desmond Doss in "Hacksaw Ridge," a part which scored him an Oscar nomination.

The actor later played Jim Bakker in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" and Jonathan Larson in "Tick, Tick ... Boom!". While he's been critically acclaimed for his emotional performance in the latter (which nabbed him his second Oscar nod), it was his role in the former that seemingly took him to the most emotional place. "I hope to never play someone like Jim Bakker again, because it was deeply painful having to tap into that ... fear of being unlovable or fear of being seen," Garfield told the Los Angeles Times.

In 2021, the same year that both movies were released, Garfield also reprised his Marvel role alongside Tobey Maguire in the Tom Holland-led "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (though he previously denied his part in the film). Garfield later revealed on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast that he would be interested in playing the character again, as long as the story was "of service to the audience ... [and] the character." So, it might not be the end for "The Amazing Spider-Man" franchise after all.

"Mrs. Doubtfire" star Sally Field played Peter's aunt, May Parker, in the "Spider-Man" franchise. On screen, May dutifully supports her web-slinging nephew. However, it appears that off screen, Field had some regrets about her role in these Marvel films. In fact, she admitted she only took the role as a favor to her late friend, Laura Ziskin, who received a posthumous producer credit on the first feature. "It's really hard to find a three-dimensional character in it, and you work it as much as you can, but you can't put ten pounds of s*** in a five-pound bag," Field said of her character in 2016, per Vulture.

Since 2014, the Oscar-winning actor has focused on television roles. In 2018, she reunited with her "Spider-Man" co-star, Emma Stone, for the psychological dark comedy miniseries "Maniac." Field then starred in the Jason Segel-led drama "Dispatches from Elsewhere" in 2020. "It's very unique," Field said of the latter series to Entertainment Weekly. "That's what drew me to it in the first place." The show also stars Eve Lindley and André Benjamin. According to Field, while it presents "mystery upon mystery upon mystery," it is really about "the relationship that these four people end up having." As of this writing, Field's next role is in the 2022 sports drama series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty."

Actor, comedian, producer, and writer Denis Leary played Gwen's overprotective father, Captain George Stacy, in "The Amazing Spider-Man" franchise. Captain Stacy's death at the end of the first film is a major plot point that continues into the sequel, and the character continues to appear, though only as a figment of Peter's imagination.

The actor hasn't racked up many more film credits (besides a voice role in "Ice Age: Collision Course") since the 2014 film, but that's because he's been a regular fixture on the small screen. From 2015 to 2016, Leary starred in "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll," a series that Leary also wrote and produced. He wrote the first season of the show by himself, but for the second season, he brought in a few other voices and perspectives. One new addition was his son, Jack Leary. "My primary reason for bringing my son on was to have a voice on the show that would bring a 25 or 26-year-old point of view to it, and my son is very capable of writing that stuff," Denis explained to Collider, noting that Jack's musical knowledge was also a major plus.

Denis Leary has subsequently appeared in episodes of "Animal Kingdom," "Family Guy," and starred in the American comedy "The Moodys." Alongside acting, Leary wrote a book about his view on modern politics called "Why We Don't Suck," which includes his idea to revolutionize the voting system with a "13-week reality show," revealing on "Good Morning America," "I call it 'America's Got Leaders.'"

American-South African actor Embeth Davidtz played Mary Parker, Richard's wife and Peter's mother, in the superhero franchise. But in 2016, she revealed to Vulture that she had to take a break from acting after "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," because she was diagnosed with breast cancer right before filming began in New York City. The "Schindler's List" star said she had a "great response" to chemotherapy, but she decided to have a mastectomy when filming ended in June 2013.

The operation was thankfully a success and, a few years later, Davidtz started returning to the small screen, appearing in "The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe" and "Ray Donovan." The latter required Davidtz to do a nude scene, so the actor, who was "partway through [her breast] reconstruction," worked with producer David Hollander to include her breast cancer in the storyline. In the end, "We emphasized the scar and made it look a lot angrier ... we put a lot of makeup on it because we wanted the shock effect," she explained.

The "Matilda" alum has since continued bagging TV roles. From 2019 to 2021, she had a recurring role as Paige Kessler, the ex-wife of Steve Carell's character Mitch, on "The Morning Show." In the same year, she also made her return to the big screen, appearing in the American thriller "Old."

"Harry Potter" actor Rhys Ifans played Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard in the first "The Amazing Spider-Man" film. The scientist-turned-villain goes on a rampage, trying to turn everyone in New York City into lizards, until he is defeated by Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man. Ifans reprised his role in the 2021 film "Spider-Man: No Way Home," where he again tries to enact his plan to turn everyone into lizards, although this time he's thwarted by the Spidey trio. The Lizard has lived to fight another day, though, with Ifans telling Inverse that he would be keen for his character to fight Tom Hardy's Venom.

Just days after "No Way Home" came out, Ifans' next feature film "The King's Man" was released in theaters. The Welsh actor played the detestable character Grigori Rasputin, who joined forces with the worst tyrants and criminal masterminds to kill millions of people during World War I. Ifans was a big fan of the previous "Kingsman" films and was incredibly excited and "proud" to be a part of this latest installment, he told "Cineworld Cinemas": "To be able to play a figure like Rasputin in ... the Kingsman world, where everything's cranked up to 90, was just a no-brainer, really."

Getting to work with director Matthew Vaughn was a selling point for Ifans, too. "He's one of those British directors that you hope one day you'll be lucky enough to get a chance to work with," he gushed.

American actor and model Chris Zylka played Flash Thompson, the school bully at Midtown Science. He's a minor antagonist in Peter Parker's story, but the character does soften toward the end of film, showing sympathy to Peter when Ben dies, and similarly to Gwen when her father dies.

After "Spider-Man," Zylka bagged a main role in the HBO supernatural series "The Leftovers" alongside Justin Theroux, Liv Tyler, and Christopher Eccleston. "I could never have imagined working for HBO, at such a young age, which was such an honor," he said in a 2017 interview with Collider. "I couldn't have imagined, reading the pilot and talking to [creator] Damon [Lindelof], that it was going to be as gnarly of a ride as it has been." Zylka was as much of a fan of the show as he was an actor, explaining that he initially didn't read the series' finale script, so he didn't spoil the plot for himself ahead of time.

When "The Leftovers" ended, Zylka nabbed a recurring role in the USA Network's teen drama "Dare Me," but since then he's been more focused on film roles. In 2021, he starred in the television film "How I Met Your Murderer," and he's set to star in the upcoming feature "Model House," at the time of this writing. Zylka also had a high-profile relationship with socialite Paris Hilton. The pair got together in 2016, seven years after they first met at an Oscar party. However, their love story wasn't meant to be, and the couple split in November 2018.

Actor, comedian, and singer Jamie Foxx played Max Dillon in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2." Max is a kind, nerdy Oscorp scientist until he falls into a vat of electric eels, which transforms him into Electro, one of the big villains of the film. Foxx reprised the role for the 2021 movie "Spider-Man: No Way Home," where he got to explore a new side of the character. 

"I'm happy we got a brand new start, a brand new look," he explained at a panel event, also noting how happy he was not to be blue in this film (via ComicBook). Foxx also said he was thrilled to be working with such a talented cast in "No Way Home," telling Marvel's website, "When you're able to come together for something that's fun, with people that you really admire and respect, that's just the cherry on top."

Alongside his "Spider-Man" appearances, the "Django Unchained" actor has been enjoying a busy film career that shows no signs of slowing down. At the time of this writing, Foxx has six feature films in the works (either filming or in post-production) and a further three in pre-production. One notable title is "They Cloned Tyrone," which Foxx will also produce and star in alongside "Star Wars" actor John Boyega and "WandaVision" star Teyonah Parris. Since 2017, Foxx has also served as the host of the game show "Beat Shazam."

Felicity Jones' career was just getting going when she appeared in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" as Felicia, Harry Osborne's assistant. Her international breakout role was the 2011 film "Chalet Girl," which she starred in alongside "Gossip Girl" star Ed Westwick, and since then, her career has gone from strength to strength. She played Jane Hawking in "The Theory of Everything," starred alongside Tom Hanks in "Inferno," and led the "Star Wars" spinoff "Rogue One" alongside Diego Luna.

Two of Jones' more recent roles — playing Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2018's "On the Basis of Sex" and Amelia Wren in 2019's "The Aeronauts" — top off a long list of strong and powerful female characters that the actor has played. But Jones is not shy about digging into timely political subject matter in her work. In fact, it resonates with her and makes it more meaningful. "We were filming it in the midst of the beginning of the #MeToo movement," she said of the RBG biopic to Net-A-Porter. "And since then, with everything that's happened with the Supreme Court, her story feels even more pertinent."

Alongside acting, Jones has also been focused on family life. The actor welcomed a baby with her husband, Charles Guard, in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "To have a baby in an apocalyptic moment is pretty scary," Jones admitted to The Times that December. "My husband and I have been calling it double lockdown."