Kirsten Dunst says she’s ‘proud’ of her upside-down Spider-Man kiss with Tobey Maguire
‘It looked like a great kiss,’ actor said
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Your support makes all the difference.Kirsten Dunst says she’s “proud” of her iconic upside-down kiss with Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man almost 20 years ago.
In the scene, Dunst, who played the role of MJ in the 2002 film, pulls down the mask of an upside-down Spider-Man just far enough to kiss him, after he saves her from a group of gangsters.
In an interview with W Magazine, the Power of the Dog actor said that “it looked like a great kiss”, before revealing some behind the scene details.
“Water was getting up [Maguire’s] nose because of the rain, and then he couldn’t breathe in the Spider-Man suit, and then... and it just felt very late at night,” Dunst said.
“But the way it was presented to me, [director Sam Raimi] gave me this book of famous kisses, so that made me realise how romantic and special Sam wanted this to be,” she added. “Even though it wasn’t necessarily feeling that way with Tobey hanging upside down.”
The Marie Antoinette actor said she is “proud to be a part” of a shot which is considered one of the greatest kisses of all time.
In 2003, the moment earned Dunst and Maguire an MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss.
After meeting on Spider-Man’s set, the two actors began dating in 2001 while filming the first film, but broke up shortly after a year together.
In a 2021 interview with The Independent, Dunst spoke about the pay disparity between her and Maguire.
“The pay disparity between me and Spider-Man was very extreme,” she said. “I didn’t even think about it. I was just like, ‘Oh yeah, Tobey is playing Spider-Man.’ But you know who was on the cover of the second Spider-Man poster? Spider-Man and ME.”
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