Andrew Garfield flexes Spidey muscles

In the span of 25 minutes, the worlds of Andrew Garfield seemed to collide.

He was at the Toronto International Film Festival in September to promote "Never Let Me Go," an adaptation of the Kazuo Ishiguro novel. He was dining on a grilled chicken salad -- healthy eating for Spider-Man -- while fielding questions about playing the Webslinger and the spurned best friend in "The Social Network."

Just for good measure, Garfield confirmed he was wearing a limited-edition "Back to the Future" watch that director Robert Zemeckis made for his electrical crew as a thank-you gift. His girlfriend found one on eBay, a reminder of what Garfield called "the best film ever."

Variety was on the money when it selected the Brit as one of its "10 Actors to Watch" in 2007.

Garfield won an award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for his portrayal of a child murderer released from prison in "Boy A," appeared opposite Robert Redford in "Lions for Lambs" and acted alongside Heath Ledger in "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus."

In announcing his selection as the new Spidey, director Marc Webb said Garfield, now 27, has a "rare combination of intelligence, wit and humanity." All were on display during the festival.

"I just want to act for the rest of my life and get lost in roles and just explore the diversity of what it is to be a human being and the different experiences we all go through, the collective experiences and the unique experiences," he told a handful of reporters at a tony hotel.

"'Never Let Me Go' is a story that I care about deeply and I wanted to be a part of desperately," Garfield said. He worked hard at auditioning and filming, adding that everyone did.

That is how he approaches every project, and "Spider-Man" -- due out in July 2012 in 3-D -- will be the same.

"I feel very passionate about it," he said. "It means a great deal to me and it always has, since I was 4 years old."

Spidey is "every skinny boy's dream," a symbol for a child who feels more powerful inside than he looks on the outside.

Nevertheless, he says, "Life comes first -- my family comes first and my friends and my happiness come first. It just so happens I get happiness out of working hard. ... The idea of fame is not something that interests me, the idea of celebrity is not something that interests me."

"I don't feel like I've had to deal with" celebrity, Garfield said, "so it's really nice when someone comes up to you and says, 'I really liked your film; it really moved me.'"

As for "Never Let Me Go," Garfield was happy to talk about Charlie Rowe, who played his character, Tommy, at a younger age.

They hung out, "mucked around," played Frisbee and hide-and-seek, and talked about everything from school to kissing girls to themes of the book and movie.

The adult Tommy "has to somehow hold on to his free-floating anxiety. ... It's death around the corner," Garfield said.

Tommy finds there is no reward for being moral, good, loyal, for looking after himself and fulfilling his purpose.

"No one rescues him, he gets held very tightly by someone that he loves, and I think that's what Ishiguro is trying to say. We have a very short time here and love as much as you can and love as many people as you can and hold onto the people who mean something, and that's obviously a microcosm of what he's talking about.