Superhero movies are everywhere nowadays. But fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order will remember that Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies (which are streaming with a Disney+ subscription) came long before shared universes became commonplace. Bryce Dallas Howard played Gwen Stacy in the third movie, and recently revealed that she’s still feeling the affects of her stunt work on that 2007 blockbuster.
Bryce Dallas Howard in accomplished actor and filmmaker, although Spider-Man 3 was one of the titles that helped her become a household name. During an appearance at L.A. Comic Con (via People), she revealed that while she loved being on set, the stunts took their toll. In her words:
As an actor, you want to be able to do as much as you can, but you work very closely with the stunt choreographers and coordinators and performers to be able to perform, and then they know the point at which they need to take over. Got a lot of great training and I was very enthusiastic and I still feel some of those stunts from time to time of getting caught by Spider-Man.
Ouch. While Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man failed to save Gwen Stacy, the same cannot be said for Tobey Maguire and Bryce Dallas Howard. While those sequences in Spider-Man 3 looked great, it sounds like they left a physical impression on Howard. And she’s still feeling those injuries nearly two decades later. Ouch.
While stunts are usually as controlled as possible, things can inevitably go wrong. Over the years we’ve seen extreme version of this, such as stunt performer Joi Harris dying while filming Deadpool 2. Luckily nothing that catastrophic happened to Bryce Dallas Howard, but even her doctors noticed something after wrapping Spider-Man 3. As she told it:
I remember I went to my osteopath afterwards and he was like, ‘Were you dragged by a truck?’ I was like, ‘No. I was rescued by Spider-Man, of course.’
As funny as this story is, it’s wild to hear that Howard is still feeling the affects of her work on Spider-Man 3 all these years later. It’s no easy feat being the damsel in distress, especially when wire work and stunts are brought in. Now I have to wonder if other Spidey actresses like Kirsten Dunst and Emma Stone have felt similar issues after being rescued by wall crawlers. Sometimes being an actor isn’t as glamorous as the public might think.
Of course, Howard has continued to be super active in her roles post Spider-Man. That includes her famously running in heels during Jurassic World, as well as the stunts and craziness that came with its two sequels. Still, I’m curious about how she might be working around the way playing Gwen Stacy still impacts her body.
Spider-Man will return to theaters when upcoming Marvel movie Brand New Day arrives on July 31st as part of the 2026 movie release list. For now, fans can re-watch Bryce Dallas Howard in Spider-Man 3 over on Disney+.