Putting on his superhero's suit

TORONTO (AP) — Andrew Garfield (photo) has been playing Spider-Man since he was tiny. Now he’s putting on his childhood superhero’s suit for real.

With two major dramatic roles hitting theaters in the coming weeks, Garfield then follows in the title role for the new incarnation of the Spider-Man franchise, which begins shooting in December.

Garfield, 27, can barely remember a time when Spidey and his average, awkward alter-ego Peter Parker were not part of his life.

His degree of devotion to the Marvel Comics hero?

“Massive. Since I was four years old,” Garfield said in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, where his drama Never Let Me Go, featuring Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley, played ahead of its theatrical release Wednesday.

And the appeal of Peter Parker, the youth Garfield will play in the franchise’s fresh start after Tobey Maguire and director Sam Raimi opted out of a fourth Spider-Man flick?

“His youth, his relatability, his struggle. He was just this skinny boy. He was a skinny boy who felt stronger on the inside than he looked on the outside, and I related to it immediately, and it stayed with me as I grew up.

“Every single generation of the comic, the cartoons and the movies, it all means a great deal to me.”