Little known British-American actor Andrew Garfield has snagged the starring role as Peter Parker in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot after an exhaustive casting search. Garfield recently appeared in small roles in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and The Other Boleyn Girl, he has also starred in Lions and Lambs and Boy A, for which he won a BAFTA award for Best Actor.

The reboot is being helmed by director Mark Webb (500 Days of Summer), and will feature a high school version of Peter Parker coming to terms with his abilities. Marvel scribe Brian Michael Bendis, who wrote the Ultimate Spider-Man series that the reboot is said to be based on, has allegedly been consulting with the filmmakers.

Garfield seems like a great choice: he’s young, he has acting chops, and as an unknown there is no baggage to bring to the table. He also has the lanky frame that made the Ultimate universe version of Peter Parker distinctive. What do you think of the choice?

Spider-Man is set to begin filmig in December, with a planned release date of July 3, 2012.