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Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco formed an iconic trio in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. One might think that all three of them would have really gotten along with each other, but that’s not the case for at least two actors in particular. While Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst dated, the former and Franco didn’t always see eye to eye.
James Franco has had a controversial run at Hollywood. But Tobey Maguire was mad at him for a different reason in the first film. Apparently, the Spider-Man actor didn’t like the fact that Franco had a crush on Dunst, who was Tobey’s girlfriend at the time.
In a joint interview with Sam Raimi for Playboy in 2013, James Franco said:
“Tobey and Kirsten became a couple around that time. I had a crush on Kirsten, and I think I was upset about that as well... Tobey was mad at me for a while. By the second film, we were cool.”
Why James Franco and Tobey Maguire didn’t like each other
Both of these Spider-Man actors played best friends on screen for the better part of Raimi’s entire trilogy. But just as their characters became enemies for a while in Spider-Man 3, they were also uncomfortable with each other during the first film.
In the same interview, James Franco aired his grevience towards Sam Raimi.
“I felt you gave Tobey Maguire so much attention during Spider-Man because of your feelings for his character... that I didn't get as much of your love as he did.”
Franco added that while he was upset about Tobey Maguire being unhappy with his crush on the latter's then-girlfriend, he was hurt by Raimi's actions as well.
"But that's another reason I felt hurt, with you [Raimi] giving Tobey all the attention...You were the father who wouldn't give me the love I needed."
Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst’s relationship ended in 2002
Most fans are aware of the fact that the two leads of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy began dating each other during the filming of the first film. Raimi himself later confirmed it.
“They apparently began dating with each other, I think, in the middle of the first movie … although I didn’t know it at the time. But definitely they eventually broke up before the second movie. I was concerned they wouldn’t get the same chemistry back, but it was just me worrying.”
The year-long relationship eventually ended in 2002, when the two returned to film Spider-Man 2. Sam Raimi was quite worried that the chemistry between Maguire and Dunst wouldn’t be the same after their breakup, but that didn’t turn out to be the case.
The actors were very professional about their work, and Dunst also confirmed that she and Maguire didn’t have issues playing a couple after their breakup. She said,
“We can wink at each other and have a camaraderie that’s, you know, stronger over the course of three movies.”
Well, it’s good that things turned out fine until Spider-Man 3 ended the trilogy. But most of the high-profile names involved took a major dip in their careers. Sam Raimi certainly managed to bounce back, while Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst had recent hits starring in Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Power of the Dog respectively. But Franco’s career has taken on a downward trend because of his controversies.
