In each big-screen version, Spider-Man has been a high schooler, but the actors who played him weren’t exactly teenagers. Here’s how old they were.

Three adult actors have starred as Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, the teenage web-slinging protector of New York City in the Marvel Universe. After a series of made-for-TV movies in the 1970s and 80s, Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man finally brought Spider-Man to the big screen with Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. After two sequels, Andrew Garfield took over the role in Marc Webb’s rebooted The Amazing Spider-Man, but Tom Holland was cast in the role after Sony and Marvel reached a deal that allowed the web-slinger to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Tom Holland’s version of Spider-Man made his debut in Captain America: Civil War before jumping into his first solo adventure in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Spider-Man went on to appear in the epic conclusions to the MCU timeline Infinity Saga, as well as two further solo projects; Spider-Man: Far From Home, the Infinity Saga’s epilogue, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, which dealt with the multiverse, bringing together all three live-action Peter Parkers from the Spider-Man movies. Peter Parker is supposed to be 15–17 years old, but the actors who have played him have always been older.

Tobey Maguire Was 26 When Filming Started On Spider-Man

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man spent years in development hell, and when the project finally got a release date, it was pushed back a year, so filming officially began in early 2001. At that point, Tobey Maguire was 26 years old, portraying Peter Parker as a 17-year-old high-school senior.

The age difference between the other actors in Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy is an often-criticized detail, as James Franco was 23 and Kirsten Dunst was 19. Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 saw a more mature Peter Parker, no longer a teenager as he was around 19-21 in Spider-Man 2 and 22-24 in Spider-Man 3, with Maguire being 28 and 31 during filming.

Andrew Garfield Was The Oldest Spider-Man Actor

Following the cancelation of Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 in January 2010, production quickly began on The Amazing Spider-Man, placing British actor Andrew Garfield in the titular role of Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, though he wasn’t a teenager either. The Amazing Spider-Man was released in 2012, but filming began in December 2010. That means Garfield was 27 years old when he first played Peter Parker, who was once again listed as a 17-year-old in this version.

The sequel arrived two years later and showed Peter at his high school graduation, so he should have been 18 years old. Garfield, on the other hand, was already 30 when filming began in 2013.

Tom Holland Is Closest To Peter Parker’s Actual Age

Marvel Studios chose to focus on a younger Peter Parker, with the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man being 15-years-old during his Civil War introduction in 2016, and Tom Holland was 18 at the time of filming. This younger choice for the character helped to make Peter’s perception of Tony Stark as a father-figure feel more believable. By the time Spider-Man: Homecoming was filming, Holland was 20 years old, making him the youngest actor to play teenage Peter Parker in live-action – and the one closest to the character’s age, though this would be stretched following Avengers: Endgame’s five-year time-jump.

Spider-Man: Far From Home is set five years after Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War, and since Peter was snapped he is seemingly still 16-years-old during Far From Home. Filming took place for his second solo outing as Spider-Man in 2018, meaning Holland was 22 years old. Spider-Man: No Way Home takes place immediately after Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s post-credits scene, meaning Peter Parker is still 16 or 17. No Way Home wrapped filming in March 2021, placing Holland at 24-years-old. Holland continues to be closer to Peter’s age than Maguire and Garfield were, but Marvel Studios is allowing the age gap to grow as his MCU story continues to unfold.

Spider-Verse’s Miles Morales Actor Shameik Moore Also Had A Huge Age Gap

While not portraying Peter Parker, Miles Morales is the primary Spider-Man of Sony’s Spider-Verse franchise, an animated version of Spider-Man voiced by Shameik Moore. Even younger than Peter Parker’s live-action iterations, Morales is supposed to be 14-years-old, but Moore was 23 when he provided the voice for the character.

This is, however, much less noticeable than the age gaps between Maguire, Garfield, and Holland and their teenage role, since Morales is an animated Spider-Man. Perhaps this will continue if and when Miles Morales enters the MCU, especially since every actor to take on the role of Spider-Man – whichever version it happens to be – has been older than the character himself.