Unhappy with the complimentary new Mercedes he was given for personal use during his stay in Australia, actor Tobey Maguire has sent his luxury car back after taking issue with the use of leather in the car’s plush upholstery.
Maguire, who in 2002 was voted the world’s sexiest vegetarian by PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, apparently has embraced a “no-leather” policy in his personal life and was upset at being handed the keys to a vehicle fitted out in ultra-soft animal skin for the duration of his Sydney stay.
And so Bazmark Films, the makers of The Great Gatsby in which Maguire plays Nick Carraway, took the car back and sent it off to the dealer to have the upholstery replaced with vinyl.
Maguire, who is living in an inner city terrace close to the Moore Park film lot with his family – wife Jennifer Meyer-Maguire and children Ruby Sweetheart, 4, and Otis Tobias, 2 – embraced a vegetarian lifestyle in 1992 and in 2009 reportedly became a vegan.
As a consequence he has become an advocate for animal rights.
The film’s publicist was unavailable for comment yesterday.
