“Tobey and I had a rough time”: Charlize Theron Struggled While Shooting Intimate Scenes With Spider-Man Actor Tobey Maguire

The classically beautiful period drama, The Cider House Rules (1999) was the launching pad for now infamous Hollywood A-listers, the likes of Tobey Maguire and Charlize Theron alongside rising actors like Paul Rudd. And even though the trio is presented at the front and center of the film, the romantic pairing of Theron opposite Maguire was one that required a bit more introspection on the part of the film’s casting director.

The young actors, both emerging talents within the industry, did end up beautifully navigating the story in the 1999 film. However, the two leads had to overcome their fair share of difficulties along the way before The Old Guard actor could admit that something in the equation did not seem to fit well.

Tobey Maguire and Charlize Theron [The Cider House Rules]

Charlize Theron Admits Difficulty Filming With Tobey Maguire

Almost two decades after the release of the cinematic adaptation of John Irving’s best-selling novel, The Cider House Rules, the film’s female protagonist, Charlize Theron reveals to V Magazine the roadblock that she encountered while filming opposite her on-screen romantic interest, played by Tobey Maguire. During filming, the leads were both 22 years old at the time, and as such were only beginning to be adept at molding in and out of roles in front of the camera.

Charlize Theron in The Cider House Rules (1999)

However, even then, there was an aspect inherently left feeling absent from their part, reveals Theron:

“Tobey and I had a bit of a rough time. I mean, we’re good now. It was a difficult movie. There really is real power in substitution. The thing is, as an actor, you can’t just rely on one method. Every day is completely different for a completely different reason. Whether it’s the weather, or the writing isn’t there, or you don’t get along with your castmate, you have to be able to go to something else that’s just as powerful. Does it make it as enjoyable? Probably not. I mean, there were just a couple of days that Tobey and I had a rough time.”

Years later, she is able to look back with nostalgia and shares a sentiment reminiscent of adoration for the film that led to her eventual launch in mainstream Hollywood, and the actor who stood by her side on the sets of the film trying to pave his own way through the industry.

Charlize Theron & Tobey Maguire: An Unlikely Friendship

At the young age of 22, both actors displayed an inkling of the enigmatic and sophisticated maturity that Tobey Maguire and Charlize Theron would eventually become known for within the industry. Despite the palpable difference that they had to wade through while filming The Cider House Rules, they had learned to compartmentalize their difficulties in favor of the story they had begun to tell.

“The rest of the movie, we actually had a really good time. I love Tobey. I’m kind of glad we had that experience on that movie. It teaches you different things. It taught me that I could fall in love with somebody in my head while looking at someone else […] We had some really intimate moments. Tobey and I didn’t feel that way about each other, so I had to figure something else out.”

Tobey Maguire and Charlize Theron

The film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2000, alongside earning Michael Caine his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Four years later, Theron went on to win an Academy Award for Best Actress for the film, Monster, as well as two more nominations in 2006 and 2020. Tobey Maguire has, in the meantime, made quite a name for himself as Spider-Man, appearing most recently in MCU’s No Way Home. The actor’s latest appearance involves another period piece in the eclectic and extravagant film directed by Damien Chazelle, Babylon.

Source: V Magazine