By Thomas Chau in Los Angeles

Tobey Maguire has become the physical manifestation of the web-slinging hero we've all come to know as Spider-Man, so when it was revealed before shooting began that Tobey's back may have hindered him from starring in "Spider-Man 2," fans had no choice but to gasp. (His replacement being Jake Gyllenhaal probably had something to do with that too.) But things worked out for the better, and Tobey's back this summer as Marvel's most beloved comic book hero. Let's see what Tobey has to say about donning the red and blue suit again, fighting a new villain and working on his feelings for the cute girl next door.

Q: Tobey, the big question on everybody’s mind is whether or not you were close to dropping out of the sequel and exactly how close were you to leaving because of your back problems?

TOBEY: How long do you want the answer to be?

Q: The two minute version…

TOBEY: First of all, this is a back condition I’ve had for three years or four years, on and off. Sometimes it doesn’t really bother me at all, sometimes it bothers me a little, sometimes it bothers me a lot. Coming off of “Seabiscuit,” it was bugging me a lot, not because of “Seabiscuit.” I did not injure my back on “Seabiscuit.” That was a false report. But it was bugging me quite a bit. I saw the animatics and the storyboards of the stunts I was supposed to do on this movie and I was a little concerned about it.

I felt it was responsibility to disclose my back discomfort to the studio, to the insurance company, and to the filmmakers, which I did. They were understandably concerned. Any of their actions that resulted in that report did not offend me or bother me in any way. I understood that they have a multi multi-million dollar investment that they had a start date for and an entire crew hired for, and everything was rushing towards a date five weeks away, to start this picture. We were all concerned about it. Then I went in with the stunt guys and worked on a few of the stunts to see how I was going to do.

After I reported the stuff to them and told them about my condition my back started getting better. I told them about it and within about a week my back got better than it had been in three years or so. So it was much ado about nothing at that point. But it was what it was. I went in and did some of the work with the stunt guys. I was fine. I told them I felt good. There was other stuff involved just because there were insurance companies involved and whatnot. And then we were good to go. I did the film and it didn’t bother me throughout the whole filming. As a matter of fact, it was easier than “Seabiscuit” and it was easier than “Spider-Man.” Why? Well, I think because having had the experience of doing it before made it easier for me and the harnesses that I wore were better and the wire rigs were easier for me, for some reason. And my back just wasn’t bothering me.

Q: How much fun or trepidation did you feel in following up such a huge hit?

TOBEY: No trepidation. It was a pleasure for me. None of my feelings had to do with the success of the first movie in terms of making the second movie. What it has to do with is that I really love working with [director] Sam Raimi. He is a lot of fun. He’s a funny guy. I just get along with him very well. His sense of humor and mine kind of work together. Also, he’s very collaborative and very open to me contributing my ideas, which I love and makes me feel like a greater part of the filmmaking process. I like working with all the other people on the show, too, like Kirsten, James, Rosemary [Harris], [producer] Laura [Ziskin], and [executive producer] Avi [Arad]. I like everybody. It was a good show and it feels like a family situation.

Q: How have both you and Peter Parker changed since the first film?

TOBEY: I’m not sure how I’ve changed. I’m a few years older and I think I’ve changed a little bit, as anyone would. I haven’t really thought about it. Peter Parker is just in a different place in his life. I think it’s wearing on him. It’s wearing on him, being Spider-Man and not having a life of his own. I always thought it was peculiar to me how this kid couldn’t see how he could just have a little balance in his life and things would be a little better for him. But there are complications to that, which I understand. He doesn’t want to put his loved ones in danger and also, just being honest with people, at first causes him pain. Just being around Aunt May at first is a painful experience because he’s constantly wracked with guilt and feelings of responsibility for all the bad things that happened. He faced that situation and it helped their relationship. It helped set him free in their relationship. So I think that stuff is just wearing on him. He wants a life of his own. He wants to have some kind of balance in his life, but he also has these gifts and wants to use them responsibly.

Q: Can you identify with him?

TOBEY: Can I identify with him? I guess. It’s a bit of a stretch. . I’m an actor. I get really busy and can feel somewhat overwhelmed at times, but my life is not at all like his. I have friends and family I’m close to.

Q: Can you talk about working with Alfred Molina as the villain this time?

TOBEY: I thought Alfred did such a great job. I think that the character of Doc Ock is a more interesting character, cinematically, than Green Goblin was. I loved Willem and I thought he did a great job, but I think that Doc Ock is one of the best movie villains ever. Alfred got to play that, which is cool, and he did it extremely well. You never really know what to expect from an actor. I’m a fan of his and I’d seen him in some movies. I think he’s a terrific actor. But it’s a very different kind of thing and I thought he did it very well. He gives you those delicious one-liners perfectly and he has the right humor and the right kind of sinister thing going on. And he’s also very human. You care about him. I think the character is also written that way. And then, cinematically, I think that Doc Ock is just way cooler than the Green Goblin.

Q: For a movie like “Spider-Man 2,” how hard is it to balance the characters and their relationships with one another along with the action in the film?

TOBEY: From my standpoint, it’s all about characters and relationships. That’s all I think about or all I come to work to do. I think that there’s a lot to this movie. It’s very well balanced with character and relationships and action and excitement and all of that stuff. I don’t know what attracts somebody to a movie or why you versus you would go see a movie. You might like the Spider-Man action, or you want to see the love story, or you like a little bit of all of it. I don’t know what attracts any individual to the film, exactly, but it has a great mix and balance of all that stuff and I think it appeals to a lot of people.

Q: This movie seems to have references to Raimi’s earlier works, like the “Evil Dead” series, and so do you think “Spider-Man 2” allowed him to bring back some of the old stuff?

TOBEY: He did a lot of crazy camera stuff in the “Evil Dead” movies and very complicated dramatic stuff in “A Simple Plan” or something like that. “Spider-Man” was a different film than he’d ever done. Even though he had the perfect training to do “Spider-Man,” with everything he’d done, it was still different to take Spider-Man and animate him and get into his movements and try to perfect all that stuff. I think it was a learning experience. I thought he got to use his learning experience from the first picture and apply it to this one, also having more freedom. I don’t know what means, because the studio was very supportive to Sam on the first picture. But however it was he seemed to have more freedom as a filmmaker on this one and seemed to carry out what he imagined with ease on this picture. When I saw this picture, my first reaction after I saw it was, “Whoa, Sam is a genius.” I love how he made this movie. I love it. I told Sam this after I saw the film – and of course he just shrugs it off -, but I said, “Not only is this better than the first movie, I think this is the best movie you’ve ever made.” The “Evil Dead” movies are different. Those are great movies, but this, in terms of being a complete movie, I think is the best movie he’s ever made

Q: Are you comfortable with your celebrity now?

TOBEY: I guess I’m slightly more comfortable with it, but not much. It just is what it is. I experienced some celebrity prior to “Spider-Man,” but after the release of “Spider-Man” I was jarred by it for literally like two days. It was a little shocking, like “Oh my gosh, there are four or five cars following me around.” There have been a few moments like that, where it was a little jarring to me. Now I pretty much just try not to pay attention to it. I don’t particularly love all that side of it, but it just is what it is.

Q: What kind of roles are you seeking now?

TOBEY: I don’t know, really. There are so many things I enjoy watching, in terms of movies and different kinds of movies. I love scary movies. I really love them, thrillers, just scary movies, but not like horror films, although I’ll watch a horror film and like it. I like a “Marathon Man” kind of movie. I love “The Shining.” I like those kinds of films. I like comedies. I like romantic comedies. But I like the best of everything. I like a romantic comedy, but I like “When Harry Met Sally.” I like a big epic kind of movie like “Doctor Zhivago.”

Q: If you could have one superhero power yourself, what would you choose?

TOBEY: I’m not sure. I guess I’d like to fly. That would be kind of cool. That would be fun.

"Spider-Man 2" opens in theaters everywhere June 30th.