I've watched this movie plenty of times and, yes, I definitely think that Tobey Maguire is the only actor who best embodies Spider-Man. Why am I so sure? Because Tobey isn't playing the shy nerd; he is really a shy nerd just like Peter Parker. Tobey Maguire played the shy, wishy-washy, Charlie Brown-like character in other important movies such as The Cider House Rules and Pleasantville and yet in all these movies he's also wise. He's the ideal next door guy , the next door superhero. I praise the performance of the other actors of this great movie of course.