Andrew Garfield bought a boot-legged Spider-Man copy

Andrew Garfield could find himself in trouble with his Spider-Man bosses after admitting he once bought a boot-leg copy of the superhero's first big screen outing.

The British actor is such a huge fan of the comic book superhero that he couldn't wait to see 2002's Spider-Man, and decided to buy an illegal version rather than wait for the cinema release.

He tells SFX magazine, "I actually saw that first movie before it came out. I got a pirate (boot-leg) copy of it on Portobello Road (London) market because I was so excited to see it. I was blown away by it, and watched it with my friend Terry. We were quoting it to each other. I was pretending to be Toby and Terry said that I would never be able to be Spider-Man!"

Toby Maguire played the character in three Spider-Man films before Sony decided to reboot the franchise with Garfield in the lead role.

Sony Pictures executives have been vocal in the past about how piracy is affecting the movie industry.