Sam Raimi fans know they can always count on a Bruce Campbell cameo, so when the director brought "Spider-Man" to the big screen, there was fertile ground for the "Evil Dead" star to come in.
[Semi-Spoiler Alert] Completing the trilogy with a scene-stealing turn as a French maitre’d screwing up Peter Parker’s marriage proposal, Campbell saw that the film’s star didn’t really understand the gimmick of his many appearances.
"The funny thing about that is that on the first ‘Spider-Man,’ I met Tobey Maguire," recalled Campbell. "And he was like, ‘Okay, yeah, you’re a friend of Sam’s.’ Then I showed up for the second one, and he’s like, ‘Why are you back again? And you’re playing a different character. Why are you here?’ And he didn’t really get it. And then on the third one, he saw me and was, ‘Okay, you’re never going to go away. I see.’ So he finally made peace with it."
And it’s not like the filmmakers have tried to make sense of it. It’s not like the fight promoter became an usher and then a maitre’d with a French accent. "No relation whatsoever. It’s just whatever is needed to torment Spider-Man at that time."
As the former victim in Raimi’s physically demanding "Evil Dead" movies, Campbell is enjoying being the tormenter for a change. "It’s very fun to watch a guy in tights run around and get the crap beat out of him. And I know Sam loves to do it. It’s just been fun to show up for this incredibly high-budget movie and just stick around. That’s the fun part about it. And it’s still Sam. It’s still Sam. The budget’s just changed, that’s all. So we have a good working relationship and we fool around and come up with stuff. It’s a great gig."
