Michael Mando is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but his acting career began without a permanent place to live.
During a July 28 appearance on I’ve Never Said This Before With Tommy DiDario, the Better Call Saul actor recalled taking overnight buses between Montreal and Toronto, showering at the YMCA and moving between friends’ apartments while pursuing auditions.
His account arrived days before he reprises Mac Gargan, also known as Scorpion, nearly nine years after introducing the character in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Auditions Required an Overnight Bus and a YMCA Shower
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“I was homeless when I started my acting career,” Mando said. He would board an overnight bus in Montreal, arrive in Toronto, shower at the YMCA and attend an audition before making the return trip.
When he stayed in Toronto, Mando moved between friends’ apartments. One temporary arrangement ended during the winter after he overslept and accidentally burned his friend’s sheets on a heater. The two men had been sharing a small mattress, and his friend told him the arrangement could not continue.
Mando eventually rented a room in what he described as a rough part of Toronto. The space was so cramped that one of the drawers could not open fully because it struck the single bed.
Mando Still Remembers That Period With Affection
“I was happy because I was doing what I loved,” he said. Mando also discussed the rejection and self-doubt that followed him through different stages of his career.
He recalled feeling unwanted, untalented and hopeless but said those emotions were part of a broader human experience rather than proof that someone should abandon a creative ambition. Acting was not his original childhood plan. Mando said he entered the profession in his mid-20s and began in theater before moving further into film and television.
He credited his late father with quietly encouraging that path. According to Mando, his father convinced Mando’s girlfriend at the time to suggest acting because he believed his son would be less likely to dismiss the idea if it came from her.
His First Spider-Man Role Brought an Unexpected Lesson
Mando debuted as criminal Mac Gargan in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. He filmed a more substantial sequence involving Gargan during the Staten Island Ferry storyline and received a handwritten note from a senior member of the production praising his work. He did not learn how extensively it had been shortened until he attended the premiere with his father.
Gargan remained in the movie and later appeared in a prison-set mid-credits scene with Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes. The exchange suggested that Gargan wanted revenge against Spider-Man and could return as a future threat. Mando said the experience taught him not to treat editing decisions as a personal rejection.
He Eventually Stopped Expecting Marvel to Call
Mando initially wondered whether Marvel would follow the Homecoming tease, but the possibility faded as subsequent Spider-Man movies arrived without Gargan. “I didn’t think I was going to come back,” he said, explaining that he eventually stopped considering it.
Marvel and Sony later contacted him about Spider-Man: Brand New Day, allowing him to revisit the character nearly a decade after his first appearance. The film stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Mark Ruffalo and Mando.
Destin Daniel Cretton directed the movie from a screenplay by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Marvel lists Mando as Mac Gargan and Scorpion. Sony Pictures will release Spider-Man: Brand New Day in U.S. theaters on July 31.