Andrew Garfield, Jamie Bell finally discuss 'Spider-Man' casting rivalry

Andrew Garfield and Jamie Bell are opening up about a shared piece of Hollywood history, going head-to-head for the role of Spider-Man back in 2010, a rivalry the two only recently discussed candidly after working together on their new film, The Uprising. 

Both actors were part of an extensive, highly public casting search for The Amazing Spider-Man, alongside contenders including Aaron Johnson, Anton Yelchin, Logan Lerman and Josh Hutcherson, before the role ultimately went to Garfield.

Bell recalled an especially awkward dinner the two shared right before the casting decision was announced, describing an unspoken tension neither of them addressed at the time. 

According to Bell, the two had bonded over what he jokingly called "Spidey school", weeks of training together in web-slinging choreography and fight routines as finalists for the part. 

At one particularly telling moment during that dinner, a salt shaker fell off the table, and both actors instinctively shot out an arm in an identical web-slinging motion. 

"There was a look in both our eyes," Bell has said, recalling the realiation that they'd both spent far too long training for a role only one of them could get.

Garfield ultimately won the part, going on to star in 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man and its 2014 sequel, later reprising the role alongside Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home. 

Bell, for his part, has said in past interviews that he never felt a strong connection to the character and believes the studio made the right call, telling GQ years ago, "I've never felt particularly connected to Peter Parker… I felt like they made the right decision." 

The two actors' new collaboration, The Uprising, is a historical drama directed by Paul Greengrass centered on the 1381 English Peasants' Revolt, with Garfield starring as a farmer who becomes a leader of the uprising, the film also features Cosmo Jarvis, Thomasin McKenzie, Tom Hollander and Katherine Waterston, and opens in U.S. theaters September 11.