Tobey Maguire bemoans the price of celebrity

Apr 29, 2007, 15:41 GMT

04/23/2007 - Tobey Maguire - Spider-Man 3 London Premiere - Red Carpet - Odeon Leicester Square - London, England © Solarpix / Photorazzi

Tobey Maguire hates celebrity culture.

The 'Spider-Man 3' star can't understand society's obsession with famous people, but admits he knows about the antics of stars like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton because no one can escape gossip.

The actor - who plays the web-slinging superhero in the hit movie series - said: "I'm not interested in gossip. Well, I say that, yet I'm up on most of the stuff because people talk about it all the time.

"It's like, 'Did you see what Britney Spears did? She shaved her head!' How do I know that? Why should I know that? I can't believe that this stuff makes the news!"

When Tobey first shot to fame after starring in the first 'Spider-Man' movie in 2002 he found it difficult to deal with the intense interest in his personal life.

The 31-year-old actor was furious after it was revealed his estranged father Vincent had served two years in jail for a failed bank robbery, but has now learned how to deal with the attention.

Tobey - who has a one-year-old daughter, Ruby, with his jewellery designer fiancée Jennifer Meyer - explained to Arena magazine: "The attention made me feel somewhat uncomfortable. I used to get almost antagonistic. I wanted to tell people off, and say, 'What are you doing?' But now I've learned how to handle that situation somewhat better. That side of me only comes out when someone just keeps on at me and keeps prying."