Where is Tobey Maguire now? A look at his acting career

Do you remember the days when Tobey Maguire just seemed to be everywhere? He was the quintessential good-boy heartthrob in the early 2000s and one of the best-paid actors at the time. Then POOF! Tobey Maguire just seemed to disappear. Have you ever wondered just what happened to Tobey? Click on to find out!

The actor, born Tobias Vincent Maguire, didn't plan on being a superstar when he grew up. In fact, he dreamed of being a chef just like his father; however, his mother had always dreamed of being a movie star and saw talent in her son.

Due to heavy encouragement from his mom, Tobey landed his first on-screen appearance when he was 13 years old on a soap opera.

Pictured: Tobey on the far left, in his first (uncredited) film role in the 1989 movie, 'The Wizard.'

Despite his initial hesitation about acting (Tobey once told an interviewer his mother paid him $100 to take his first acting class!), young Tobey soon realized that not only was acting fun but that it paid big too!

Pictured: Tobey in a Twister Juice commercial in 1991.

By age thirteen, Maguire had left school to pursue acting full-time.

Pictured: Maguire in a commercial from 1990 for the Atari Lynx console.

Tobey was working steadily, but his career received a powerful boost when he landed a role in a film with Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Photo: Still from 'This Boy's Life'

Not only was 'This Boy's Life' great for the actor's career, but Maguire also made one of his best friends in the industry: Leonardo DiCaprio. To this day, the pair are still close and frequently photographed hanging out together.

Directors and producers appreciated Maguire's dedication to the art of acting, a quality which he proved with his participation in 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.' His participation in the film also showed that he indeed was a universal actor, not just a pretty boy; he could play a high hippie or a shy guy just as well.

Photo: Still from 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'

For ONE scene in the film, Maguire was willing to shave his head and bleach his eyebrows so that the blonde wig he wore would fit perfectly. Drastic changes to appearance aren't something many actors are willing to do, but then again, it isn't every day that one gets to share the screen with Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro.

Photo: Still from 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'

Thanks to a combination of talent, hard work, his good boy looks, and pure luck, Maguire soon found himself starring in feature films under the guidance of some of the best directors in Hollywood.

Tobey Maguire proved himself as an actor from 'Pleasantville' where he co-starred with Hollywood's sweetheart Reese Witherspoon to 'The Cider House Rules' where he starred alongside Charlize Theron.

Photo: Still from 'Pleasantville'

When producers were looking for candidates for the role of 'Spider-Man,' they soon realized that Maguire was the perfect candidate.

A combination of acting talent, intelligent air, and short stature made Tobey stand out as the perfect actor to play Peter Parker on the big screen. Landing the starring role in 'Spider-Man' shot Tobey Maguire into the realm of Hollywood's megastars.

Since 'Spider-Man' was so successful, earning $110 million in just the opening weekend, Maguire signed up for two 'Spider-Man' sequels. Many fans consider 'Spider-Man 2' to be among the best superhero films ever created.

However, during the filming of the third 'Spider-Man' film, things started to take a downward turn. First, Tobey Maguire demanded a ridiculously high fee to film the third instalment of the saga.

Then, according to various news outlets, the actor demanded a doctor remain on set due to his back issues. Rumor has it that Maguire became such a diva about his back issues that he had medics limiting the number of steps he could make on camera without putting his health at risk. Yikes....

To make matters worse, director Sam Raimi was highly criticized by fans over the film's third instalment, released in 2007. Spider-Man 3 was a flop, and Maguire's career started to go downhill as well.

Tobey Maguire's reputation was suffering, not only for being a diva during the filming of 'Spider-Man 3' and starring in the unsuccessful film but also for his gambling addiction.

According to an article from 'The New York Post,' Tobey used to be a frequent player at underground poker casinos for elite players.

Everyone wanted to play the super famous movie star, and Maguire, who was actually quite talented at poker, was winning hundreds of thousands of dollars from tycoons and other big wigs.

However, all this stopped when Maguire was forced to pay out his winnings to settle a lawsuit, further sullying his public image.

By 2009 Tobey Maguire was ready to reinvent himself and tried to shed his superhero past. However, it was not as easy as the actor hoped.

One such film was 'Brothers' in which the actor starred along with his former rival Jake Gyllenhaal. Maguire's acting skills earned him a nomination for a Golden Globe and a Saturn Award.

In 2013, he joined forces with his buddy Leonardo DiCaprio for 'The Great Gatsby,' which was quite successful but failed to revive his career.

It is unclear why Tobey Maguire was struggling so much to make a comeback. Yes, he earned a bit of a bad reputation for his behavior on set in 'Spider-Man 3' and his gambling problems, but there are other successful Hollywood stars with far greater sins. Why couldn't Maguire find his acting mojo again??

Maguire tried his hand at the small screen to see if working on a TV project might change his luck, but it didn't work. Tobey was on the series 'The Spoils of Babylon', but the show's premise was not well received, and the actor appears to have no further interest in TV projects since.

Pictured: Still from 'The Spoils of Babylon'

The actor has also created his very own production company called Material Pictures. However, Maguire has not found success with it either. The majority of the films that Material Pictures has released, such as 'Rock of Ages' or 'The 5th Wave', have been box office flops.

Although, recently, as a producer, things seem to be going a bit better for Tobey Maguire. In March 2021, the film 'Nobody' for which he was on the production team, was released, received praise from critics, and made $56 million at the box office worldwide.

Pictured: Bob Odenkirk in 'Nobody'

In 2021, 'Spider-Man: No Way Home,' gave a much-needed boost to Maguire's career. The actor played an alternate version of Peter Parker in the film, which was very well received and the highest-grossing film in 2021.

Image: Poster from 'Spider-Man: No Way Home'

Maguire's most recent film 'Babylon,' is scheduled to be released in December of 2022. Not only is Tobey on the production team, but he also has a role in the film, which stars Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie.

Perhaps 'Babylon' will be the springboard that Maguire needs to return to his megastar status. Or maybe, Tobey is happy being in the business but in a more low-key manner.....only time will tell!