Leaping into the role of Peter Parker was no small feat for Tobey Maguire. The actor known for subtle roles had to bulk up to get Spidey's wall-crawling down. But at least he got to kiss Kirsten Dunst.

Q: What sort of beefing up did you do? Because it looked like you got yourself in a different kind of shape than we've seen.

A: Yeah, I actually did. I worked out for five months, six days a week, anywhere from an hour and a half to four hours a day--a combination of gymnastics, martial arts, yoga, weight lifting, cycling and running. I had a very specific diet, working with a nutritionist.

Q: Did you enjoy the process of working out, eating a regimented diet? Or did you just despise it?

A: Well, on the seventh day of the week I could eat whatever I wanted. I don't think that I could sustain something so strict without a little break here and there. As far as how intensely I was working out, it's very time consuming, but once you get into that kind of routine, for me anyway, I became somewhat obsessive about it. I was training like a professional athlete. My nutritionist and some other trainers that I worked with said that I was working harder and was more committed than lots of professional athletes.

Q: So what was the one food that you had to have?

A: You know, what I love to do is go to a Lakers game or go to a movie and just eat popcorn and M&M's or junk kinda stuff like that.

Q: But if you continue to do "Spider-Man" movies, this is more than preparation for a role, this is an entire life change!

A: Yeah, but I'm a fairly extreme person, so I can go back and forth.

Q: How comfortable was the suit?

A: It's comfortable. I went through a body cast and computer scans and 20-something fittings. I was always going in to try on some different version. By the time I actually got in it, I was very comfortable, although sometimes they would have to sew me in because the zippers would break all the time. That'd make me a little uneasy because then I would be harnessed up on a wire, and sometimes I would get a little thirsty. I'd be like, "All right, it's gonna be like 20 to 25 minutes before I can get a drink at best." If I had to use the restroom that'd be a little bit of a process.

Q: What kind of balancing act is it to keep the character going when you've got to make sure that you're in the right place during action sequences so you don't get hurt?

A: I felt safe because we had good people working on the film. I was never really worried about that. Sometimes when I get outside my eyes are a little sensitive to the sun and I get a little squinty, so I have to force myself to keep my eyes open. That's one of the more challenging things.

Q: Did you look forward to those scenes every day, or did you want them to end?

A: It was always fun to get into them to try it. Maybe halfway through the day the excitement wore off. I guess if you went to a theme park and rode the same ride 40 or 50 times in a day, it wouldn't be as exciting the second half of the day. The thing that was most challenging as far as strength goes would be the scenes where I had to hang. Sometimes there would be a metal piece right on my hip bone and that's where all my weight was going. I would come down and talk to the stuntmen about it, and they were just like, "Ah, it's not that bad." So, it'd make me feel like a wimp.

Q: Is this how you pictured your acting career?

A: No, but when I was a kid I used to get in fake fights and roll down flights of stairs, and I felt like I wanted to be a stuntman.

Q: You've already signed on for a sequel. Are you going to have time to do anything else?

A: Yeah, I've got to do something else, just because I don't want to wait that long to work. There are a few things I'm interested in, so we'll see what happens. But I am also producing a film that starts shooting in May with Spike Lee directing and Ed Norton starring, so that's been fun to be a part of that process.

Q: In the movie, Peter Parker has little hairs that come out of his hands that help him climb the walls. But when we first see him, he's wearing gloves and tennis shoes, so how does he climb through all that stuff?

A: [laughs] Uh, well those hairs are so fine that they can go through the material on the gloves, as well as his feet.

Q: Screen kissing can be something of an art. But especially when one of you is hanging upside down.

A: It was interesting, it was challenging. I was hanging upside down, it was roughly five in the morning, there was rain pouring up my nose. I couldn't breathe, and I was gasping for breath out of the corner of Kirsten's mouth. Poor girl, I was giving her mouth-to-mouth rather than kissing her. But in the midst of that, I was sneaking some pleasure out of it.