Tobey Maguire — sorry, who? That’s right. At one time, he was delighting big screen audiences all over the world by transforming from über-geek Peter Parker into smooth-talking, slick-moving superhero Spider-Man. That all started back in 2002 and he became such a big name that he didn’t have to spin a web for you to recognize him.
Fast forward to 2014 and it’s the last time we see him in big screen action; namely, in the movie Pawn Sacrifice as chess genius Bobby Fischer. Before then, he’d treated us to a co-starring role alongside Leonard DiCaprio in The Great Gatsby, in 2013, and we also saw him on the small screen in The Spoils of Babylon.
In the last few years, however — except for a 2017 voiceover role in The Boss Baby —Hollywood has been a relatively Maguire-less landscape. Just what’s going on with Tobey Maguire?
Maybe Leo DiCaprio will know?
In case you didn’t know it already, Maguire has become just as famous for his friendship with heart-throb Leo DiCaprio as he is as the Marvel superhero. Yep, these guys have got a serious bromance going on. The two stars became friends after working together at an early age in the barely memorable TV series Parenthood. Despite Leo taking the lead role and Maguire getting just a few lines, the two hit it off and have long been major bros.
He may have been the lead guy, but it was Leo who did all the chasing. Maguire was filming Hot Rod Brown Class Clown (yep, we’ve never heard of it either) with Whoopi Goldberg when Leo jumped out of a car and more or less disrupted filming to get Maguire’s number. Maguire jokingly pretended not to know who he was. Given the way Maguire has dropped off the map, his partner in crime could easily do the same!
For all the stardom, though, the guys will tell you they’re just normal friends. They play basketball and chat about their mutual passion for the sport and, generally, just do normal friends stuff. That said, they just can’t get enough of each other: while they were working together on The Great Gatsby, they were neighbors as well, which meant they could consult each other on the project easily. Of course, it’s not just the projects they discuss: the two go to each other for advice on all sorts of things; in fact, if either of them is making a big decision, often, they’ll run it by the other first. That’s bromances for you!
Speaking of interests, Maguire is a big poker player and is well known for his love of the card game, especially high-stakes games. It’s a love that once landed the Santa Monica-born star in some serious hot water, but that’s all done and dusted now, so let’s not go into it. Have his relationships suffered because of passion for the cards, though?
Love on the rocks
Today, Maguire is seen in the company of his more recent new love, model Tatiana Dieteman, but, previously, he’d been married to Jennifer Meyer, who is a jewelry designer and the daughter of movie mogul Ron Meyer. The couple had met each other in 2003 and got married four years later in a small ceremony out in Hawaii.
In the run-up to the public announcement of their split, there had been hints of trouble. Meyer had posted on Instagram a Lucille Ball quote: “It’s a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy.” A few days later, she’d posted a picture of her hand with a blue, heart-shaped ring, plus a caption that read “Monday morning blues.”
In his teenage years, Maguire had struggled with drugs and alcohol, but, speaking to The Guardian in 2013, had stated that he’d stopped when he was 19. He also added that he was a vegan. Previously, he’d declared to David Letterman, in 2007, how happy he was to be living a new life as a husband and father.
So why the separation? Could it be down to some of the issues that may arise when dating a poker player ? Maguire may have had an unfortunate childhood that left him craving stability when he was older, but this is slightly incompatible with an interest in a game that can be — and is — wildly unpredictable, which may have caused him to make a few mistakes away from the tables.
Perhaps it was the other way around. Maybe Jennifer had an idea of how she thought poker players were in real life and, somehow, she felt that Maguire conformed to these ideas in the end. Only she’ll know that, but his reputation for gambling likely won’t have done either of them any favors.
What is certain is that Tobey Maguire is much less of a frequent presence in Hollywood. Some have attributed this to an inability to work with others. They’ve also pointed out that he’s accepting of the fact that he’s not overly charismatic like a lot of Hollywood’s big characters are and, as a result, people are unwilling to hire him. Whether these claims are true or not, only those who work with Maguire by or within the industry, or who know him well, will be able to confirm. All we can do is wait and see if he decides to make a serious comeback.