Andrew Garfield, a little-known British actor, is the surprise choice to play Spider-Man in the latest instalment of the Hollywood franchise.

The 26-year-old, raised in the UK but born in California, will begin work on the new movie in December.

The new film, in 3-D, will be released in 2012. It is a “reboot” of the $2.5 billion franchise, with a focus on the superhero’s early years.

“Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor’s work understand his extraordinary talents,” said Marc Webb, the film’s director, as he announced the news at a Sony press event in Cancun, Mexico.

“He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker.”

His previous credits include last year’s The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus alongside the late Heath Ledger.

Former Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire and director Sam Raimi departed the franchise after making three films.

Garfield was born in Los Angeles to a British mother and American father, and the family moved to Surrey when he was three. His father, Richard, is head coach of the Guildford City Swimming Club.

It was during his time at the City of London Freemen’s School in Ashstead that Garfield discovered a passion for acting. He was also an accomplished gymnast, which should come in handy for Spider-Man stunts.

He won a place at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama and graduated in 2004.

For the first three years of his career he worked in theatre, appearing at the National and winning a most promising newcomer award from the London Theatre Critics’ Circle.

Moving into television, he won the 2007 best actor Bafta for Boy A, in which he played a young man released from prison after committing a murder when he was a child. He also won acclaim for his role in Channel 4 police drama Red Riding, and appeared in two episodes of Doctor Who.

His first big screen role was in Lions For Lambs, directed by Robert Redford and starring Meryl Streep. Redford was impressed with his audition tape and cast him without realising that he was British.

“My Dad is from America, and he has his accent still so I have grown up with that in my ear so, like anything, it just becomes second nature. So I do feel like that is an advantage and a really lucky one,” Garfield said.

Spider-Man producer Avi Arad added: “We believe we have found the perfect choice to take on this role and lead us into the future.”

The movie has yet to be named.

For now, 3-D video of the World Cup in South Africa won’t be shown in TV broadcast for homes, according to the Japanese firm which makes Bravia TVs, Walkman portable players and PlayStation 3 game consoles.

They will be shown at Sony booths at FIFA events in Berlin, London, Mexico City, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Sydney in June and July. Highlights will be shown in Sony showrooms, and a video version will be sold through Sony Pictures.

Sony is one of several electronics makers planning or working on 3-D technology for TVs and movies. The company makes 3-D capable video cameras, and plans to sell 3-D TVs for homes next year.

People wear special glasses to see 3-D footage because the illusion of dimension is created by sending different images to the left and the right eye, although manufacturers are working on upgrades that will show 3-D without glasses.

Chief Executive Howard Stringer expressed his enthusiasm for watching a soccer game in 3-D in an interview this week.

“I thought that was very cool,” he said at Tokyo headquarters.

Most 3-D releases so far have been animation films but the feature is gradually spreading to other genres, such as the soon-to-be-released sci-fi epic Avatar.

Mr Stringer said sports was definitely one area 3-D could display its strengths.

He also said he wanted to see “thoughtful” movies someday being made in 3-D. He ruled out Michael Jackson videos and the next “Spider-Man” movie as 3-D possibilities.