Comedian Jim Norton Didn't Know He was in Spider-Man Until It Came Out

Comedian Jim Norton explains why, like Gwyneth Paltrow, he had no idea he was in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002) movie.

By Kofi Outlaw - May 28, 2024 12:23 pm EDT

Marvel's Spider-Man movie curse continues, as yet another famous person involved with the Spider-Man movie franchise has confessed they didn't even know they were in the film!

Comedian Jim Norton appeared in Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man movie, in the bit role of "Surly Truck Driver." Raimi's film uses a lot of testimonials from NYC citizens and media regarding the phenomenon of Spider-Man's appearance. But apparently, Jim Norton had no idea that his bit actually made it into Spider-Man (2002), until it blew up in theaters:

"I often wondered – as I feel he was the lynchpin in the film – very underrated role, the Surly Truck Driver – really turned the tone of the city," Norton joked with ComicBook's Chris Killian.

Getting more serious, Norton explained that he didn't know he was in Spider-Man (2002) simply because he didn't formally film anything on a main set with Sam Raimi – he was one of many improv actors that filmed bit scenes with the 2nd Unit crews:

"I didn't even know I made it in – because I didn't work with Sam Raimi," Norton said. "It was 2nd Unit; in Queens, we shot that. So they just told me to improv a bunch of stuff, so I did. And I was doing jokes about like webs, almost like whacking-off and a web would shoot. And they were like 'You can't do c*m jokes: this is a kids' movie. And I go 'Oh, okay.' So I did what I did and they used a couple of lines – or just one line – and I realized when fans were calling into the radio show [Opie and Anthony] saying 'Ay, I saw Spider-Man: You're in it!'"

This isn't an isolated incident for Jim Norton, who also didn't realize he made it into an Oscar-nominated film by Martin Scorsese: "That's how it was with The Irishman too: I didn't know I made it until the night before, I bumped into Ray Romano and he goes 'Hey! Great job!'"

It's also not an isolated incident for Spider-Man movie actors: Back in 2019, when all the Marvel Cinematic Universe actors were out doing press for Avengers: Endgame, Iron Man franchise star Gwyneth Paltrow sparked headlines and social media uproar when she admitted that she had no idea she had appeared alongside Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Paltrow eventually doused the flames by explaining that the volume of MCU projects she appeared in made it hard to know which scenes were going where:

"I just got confused. There's so many of these wonderful Marvel interconnecting movies and I thought that it was an Avengers movie, but it was not."

Spider-Man movies: a web of collaboration so big it's hard to keep track of everyone who gets caught in it.

Visit JimNorton.Com for his latest stand-up tour dates or check out his new YouTube show "Nikki & Jim."

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