Everyone has their own Spider-Man they grew up with: Hudson Thames on playing superhero in new show

New Delhi, Feb 14 (PTI) Hudson Thames grew up admiring Tobey Maguire’s “Spider-Man” movies in the 2000s for the way they reflected the times and he hopes to achieve something similar through his take on the superhero in the animated show “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”.

Hudson, who has appeared in shows like “Mad Men” and “American Soul”, first voiced the superhero in the Marvel show “What If…?” and now voice stars as Spiderman and his alter ego Peter Parker.

The references for voicing the character, which has been depicted multiple times in animation, television and in live-action films, were many but what has always stayed with the actor is Maguire’s portrayal in the Sam Raimi’s trilogy.

“Everyone has their own (version of) Spider-Man that they grew up with. For me, it was Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man. I remember feeling like the issues that were being dealt within that Spider-Man series felt poignant for where the world was at that time.

“I’m really curious to see what my little brothers think about this show because it feels so 2025 to me but in a natural, like not annoying and ‘woke’ way. It (deals) with the issues at hand in modern day,” the 30-year-old actor told PTI in a virtual interview.

The character of Peter Parker aka Spider-Man was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1962.

Maguire was the first actor to bring the character alive in live-action films with Raimi’s “Spider-Man” in 2002, followed by “Spider-Man 2” (2004) and “Spider-Man 3” (2007). He passed the mantle to Andrew Garfield, who played the superhero in two films, and currently, Tom Holland portrays Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies.

“Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”, which is streaming on JioHotstar, follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming a hero, with a journey unlike we’ve ever seen and a style that celebrates the character’s early comic book roots, as per the official logline.

Thames said the show made him remember his childhood days, especially when he was in school.

“(I) remembered what it was like to be in ninth grade. Like how much everything mattered, how dramatic everything was, the stakes were so high, everything was the biggest deal… just tapping into that youthful energy and going back and watching my old skateboarding videos and kind of just putting myself in that place.”

The show, despite its modern setting, has a retro charm, Thames said.

“I have an obsession with the ’50s and ’60s which adds to my excitement. I slick my hair back and my grandma is an old Vegas singer, it’s something I have always loved. So when I saw this animation style for the first time, I freaked out because it was so cool. This is so retro and it is a time period I was already obsessed with,” Thames said.

Asked about the challenges of voicing a character that leads two lives, Thames said it didn’t bother him as the mask does the heavy lifting with Spider-Man.

“People don’t seem to notice for whatever reason, so I kind of got to stay consistent with it, which was nice,” he added.

Created and written by Jeff Trammell, “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” also features Colman Domingo, Eugene Byrd, Grace Song, Zeno Robinson, Hugh Dancy and Charlie Cox as voice actors.