Why Spider-Man's Steamy Kiss Was Miserable For Kirsten Dunst & Tobey Maguire

Everyone remembers the famous upside-down kiss between Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker and Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson in 2002's "Spider-Man" — and apparently, Dunst remembers how harrowing it was to shoot.

During a 2024 appearance on the British series "The Jonathan Ross Show" (via The Independent UK), Dunst told the host that filming the rain-soaked, upside-down kiss was freezing — and Maguire could barely even breathe in the first place. "I remember [the film's director] Sam Raimi giving me a book of famous kisses to be inspired but also he really wanted to make it special even though it was kind of miserable actually doing it," Dunst told Ross, adding, "It was pouring with rain, freezing, Tobey couldn't breathe so it was almost like I was resuscitating him."

So much for the romantic look of the kiss — though it does make sense that filming this scene in a fake downpour was actually pretty gross. This isn't the only time that Dunst has commented on the now-iconic scene. "Water was getting up [Maguire's] nose because of the rain, and then he couldn't breathe in the Spider-Man suit ... and it just felt very late at night," she told W magazine in 2022.

Kirsten Dunst has revealed quite a bit of behind-the-scenes information about her time in the "Spider-Man" trilogy, and not all of it is particularly great. During a profile in Marie Claire, the Oscar nominee said that sometimes crew members used a jokey nickname for her on set — and she actually hated it.

"It was a joke, but on 'Spider-Man,' they would call me 'girly-girl' sometimes on the walkie-talkie," she recalled. "'We need girly-girl' — but I never said anything." According to the article, Dunst said all of this in a low voice and continued, "Like, don't call me that," eventually getting her thoughts more in order and saying that she felt too young and intimidated to speak up properly. "You didn't say anything," Dunst said of her unwanted "girly-girl" nickname. "You just took it."

Dunst works primarily in arthouse fare these days — her first Oscar nomination came thanks to Jane Campion's 2021 drama "The Power of the Dog" — but when asked if she'd consider doing another superhero movie someday, she was quite blunt and said she would: "Yes, because you get paid a lot of money, and I have two children, and I support my mother."

With her "Spider-Man" days apparently behind her — her Mary Jane Watson notably didn't appear alongside Tobey Maguire in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" — Kirsten Dunst has moved on to extremely serious and weighty roles, including a mother struggling with addiction in "The Power of the Dog" and a photojournalist navigating a completely divided United States in Alex Garland's dystopian drama "Civil War." Interestingly, "Civil War" and the "Spider-Man" movies have something in common. During "Spider-Man," Dunst briefly dated her co-star Tobey Maguire, while "Civil War" features Dunst's real-life husband, actor Jesse Plemons, in a small yet stunning role.

Apparently, Plemons wasn't even supposed to be in "Civil War" originally; as Dunst told Jonathan Ross during the same interview, her husband quickly stepped in to replace an actor who had to exit the project. Unsurprisingly, Dunst had nothing but praise for Plemons' performance as a sadistic, dangerous soldier who threatens her character's life. 

"Another actor was [originally] cast that couldn't end up doing it because of scheduling," she said. "Even in reading the script, that scene was chilling and the way he plays it ... what happens in that scene really sets the film off to the trajectory and really ignites the film. He's very casual about it which makes it even more chilling."