Tobey Maguire talks playing ‘the creepiest, the most depraved’ character in 'Babylon'

Tobey Maguire essays the role of James McKay in Damien Chazelle directed movie, Babylon.

The character is described as “a greasy-haired, ashen-faced, drug-addled version of the mythical Charon, guiding viewers through an underground Hollywood party that feels like nine layers of pure Dantean hell.”

According to the director, this particular role was cherry-picked by the Spider-Man alum himself.

“It's sort of funny now looking back, it was actually Tobey who picked out of this range of options this character, McKay, which was sort of the creepiest, the most depraved of all of them,” Chazelle had said, adding with a chuckle, “I don't know what that says about Tobey, but that's what he picked.”

In a detailed interview with Entertainment Weekly, Maguire explained his choice. “I don't know. There was something kind of appealing about playing James, because he was unusual and I really liked the character.”

He continued, “I liked the role that he plays in the story, and where he comes [into play], hoisting the film and these guys into that underbelly, into that world. It seemed like fun. And I didn't have a really clear vision of what I would do, which was kind of exciting. There was just a lot of possibility in the characterisation.”

When asked if he agreed with Chazelle that he’s never played a role like this before, Maguire expressed that he agreed, adding the it was 'certainly fun.'

“I don't know when I've gotten to play a character like this. Certainly nothing I can remember. Nothing in film that people would have seen,” he explained.

“Of course, as an actor reading plays, or playing with your friends, you do all kinds of stuff. That was definitely a part of playing James, this idea of: Oh, I just want to go dive into something I haven't done and not know what I'm going to do.”