Before hitting the big screen as Spider-Man, Garfield earned raves for his Broadway debut in a 2012 revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. He played Biff, a struggling former high school star athlete—the character is the oldest child of salesman Willy Loman (Philip Seymour Thomas), and their relationship is one of drama's most famous dysfunctional father-son pairings. The play earned Garfield his first Tony Award nomination and allowed him to work with director Mike Nichols, whom he has long admired. The feeling seems to be mutual, as Nichols told USA Today that Garfield "has a very commanding presence, a lot of gravitas. He's a very good emotional actor ... and he's funny.