The Amazing Spider-Man wasn't the first time the iconic web-slinger swung onto cinema screens. 5 years after the conclusion of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, Andrew Garfield stepped into the spidey suit and launched a new iteration of the classic character. Directed by Marc Webb, the film was a box office success (grossing nearly $758 million worldwide) with praise given for Garfield’s realistic performance and the film’s visuals, but criticized for its retreading of a familar story. A sequel followed in 2014, though it was the last entry in this iteration of the Spider-Man franchise.
The character, however, lives on, with Tom Holland taking over the titular role in a new batch of Spider-Man films. But whether The Amazing Spider-Man (and its sequel) are some of your favorites or you're looking for a refresher on your Spider-Man mythology, here's a handy cast and character guide, as well as some insight into what the cast is up to now, to help you differentiate your Mary Jane Watsons from your Gwen Stacys.
Peter Parker / Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield)
Peter is an introverted yet gifted teenage student at Midtown Science High School. Despite the loving influence of his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, he has difficulty finding peace and his place in the world since his parents’ mysterious disappearance as a child. He is bullied at school but has the support and friendship of Gwen Stacy to keep him going. Upon discovering his father's papers that lead him to Oscorp, Peter sneaks into the building where he is bitten by a genetically-enhanced spider that gives him super-human abilities, which he uses to target the city's criminals.
Prior to donning Spider-Man's suit and web-slingers, Garfield portrayed characters in films such as The Other Boleyn Girl, Never Let Me Go, and The Social Network, where he played real-life entrepreneur Eduardo Saverin.
After reprising his role as Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, he played historical figures such as war hero Desmond Doss in Hacksaw Ridge, advocate for disabled people Robin Cavendish in Breathe, and televangelist Jim Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Most recently, he can be seen as real-life composer and playwright Jonathan Larson in Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial debut Tick, Tick... Boom!
Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone)
Gwen is Peter’s classmate (and love interest) at Midtown Science High School. As the oldest child in her family, she is brave, independent, and not averse to taking risks if it's for the greater good. She stands up for those who are bullied (including Peter) in addition to displaying her intelligence as Oscorp’s chief intern. She's not one to run from danger and manages to play a crucial role in the film’s climax.
Aside from The Amazing Spider-Man, Stone starred as Olive Penderghast in Easy A, Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan in The Help, and Hannah Weaver in Crazy, Stupid, Love.
After reprising her role as Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Stone starred as Sam Thomson in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Mia Dolan in La La Land, Billie Jean King in Battle of the Sexes, Abigail Masham in The Favourite (for which she earned a nomination for an Acadamy Award for Best Supporting Actress), and Cruella de Vil in the live-action origin story Cruella. She can also be seen in Yorgos Lanthimos' upcoming Poor Things.
Dr. Curt Connors / Lizard (Rhys Ifans)
Dr. Connors is a leading scientist at Oscorp, as well as the former partner of Peter’s father, Richard. At the urging of his superior, Rajit Ratha, Connors creates a serum to save the life of Oscorp founder, Norman Osborn. His plans go awry when he begins testing the serum on himself, turning him into a 9-foot-tall man-lizard hybrid with green, scaly skin. During a combative encounter, Peter discovers that Connors plans to turn all of humanity into human-lizard hybrids in an effort to purge the world of humanity's many weaknesses.
Prior to his Amazing Spider-Man days, Ifans is known for playing Spike in Notting Hill, Grutas in Hannibal Rising, Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, and Edward de Vere in Anonymous.
After Spider-Man, he had roles in films such as Alice Through the Looking Glass and Snowden. Most recently, he can be seen as Hector DeJean in the television series Berlin Station and as Grigori Rasputin in the Kingsman spin-off, The King's Man.
George Stacy (Denis Leary)
George Stacy is Gwen's father and a New York police captain. He wants the best for his family, and his role in law enforcement causes him to be incredibly protective of his children (especially Gwen). Captain Stacy doesn't believe Spider-Man to be the savior of the city that so many claim him to be, and has a hard time trusting the new masked vigilante as well as his motives. His duty to protect his loved ones and his city leads to Captain Stacy finding himself in the middle of a climactic brawl between Spider-Man and Lizard.
While Leary might be most well-known for his role of New York City firefighter Tommy Gavin in the television series Rescue Me, he has also appeared in films like The Sandlot, The Ref, and the Ice Age franchise. Since portraying George Stacy in both The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel, Leary has appeared in the film Draft Day as Coach Penn, as well as the series Animal Kingdom and Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.
Ben Parker (Martin Sheen)
Ben Parker is Peter's uncle and May's husband. When Peter's parents mysteriously vanish after leaving a young Peter on Ben and May's doorstep, Ben becomes a surrogate father figure to his nephew. Like many uncles and nephews, there's a large generational gap between Peter and Ben, and they frequently have trouble bridging it and seeing eye-to-eye. Despite this, Ben fiercely loves Peter and takes it upon himself to help him navigate and unravel Peter's complicated feelings towards his parents' disappearance while also helping to guide and keep him out of trouble.
Though probably most well-known for his role as President Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing, Sheen has also starred in films such as Apocalypse Now, The Dead Zone, Wall Street, and The Departed.
In the years since his role as Uncle Ben, Sheen has appeared in films like Selma, Judas and the Black Messiah, and Come Sunday. On television, he has starred as Martin Goodson in Anger Management and Robert Hanson in Netflix's Grace and Frankie, in addition to narrating documentaries such as Unity and American Hercules: Babe Ruth.
Aunt May Parker (Sally Field)
May Parker is Peter's aunt who, along with her husband Ben, become Peter's primary caregivers and parental figures. With her kindness and warmth, May is the ideal aunt. She is caring, patient, and incredibly wise. She worries about Peter (and has a low tolerance for lies and disrespect), but she is there at a moment's notice when Peter or her husband need to talk or lean on her for support.
Sally Field has had a long and lauded career portraying memorable characters in films like Mrs. Doubtfire, Forrest Gump, and Norma Rae. Since her days as Aunt May (a role which she reprised in The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Field has held many roles on both stage and screen. She portrayed Mary Todd Lincoln in Lincoln, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, in addition to Doris in Hello, My Name Is Doris, Miss Shaylock in Little Evil, and Janice Foster in the limited series Dispatches from Elsewhere. She can also be seen as Jessie Buss in the upcoming Lakers drama series, Winning Time (2022).
Rajit Ratha (Irrfan Khan)
Rajit Ratha is an executive at Oscorp. He is the superior of Dr. Curt Connors and pressures him to create a cure for the dying Norman. While sophisticated and powerful, he can be seen as reckless and has a disregard for human life, especially when he decides to immediately test Connors' newly-developed cure on innocent people before giving it to Norman. In some fairly large ways, Ratha is responsible for Connors' transformation into Lizard.
Khan had a long career in Indian cinema before making a splash in the United States in films like The Darjeeling Limited, Slumdog Millionaire, and Life of Pi. Following his Amazing Spider-Man role as Rajit Ratha, he starred in Jurassic World as Simon Masrani, The Jungle Book as the voice of Baloo, Inferno, and Puzzle. Sadly, Khan died in 2020.
Rounding out the cast in supporting roles are Chris Zylka as Peter's high school bully, Flash Thompson, Campbell Scott as Peter's dad, Richard Parker, and Embeth Davidtz as Peter's mom, Mary Parker, while Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance as a librarian at Peter's high school.