Originally Posted by
Revolutionary_Jack
That's a fairly intricate question. There are two things, one is physical resemblance. Another is true-to-character.
-- The thing about the Peter Parker of the comics is that he's a character who changes and grows over time. Certainly in the classic era. He starts out scrawny and lean and then grows more muscular and broad shouldered. Conceptually, it's not an easy part to cast because you need to cast an actor who can pull of both a character transformation and also one in body language and physique. It's somewhat like casting an actor for a biopic (where you cast for both the young and the middle-aged and older versions of the same character).
-- I do not think that either Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland are entirely accurate to the comics on both counts. That doesn't mean that their movies are inherently bad, just that I don't think one can say that one version is the most faithful to the comics. But in their movies, what you see is one-dimensional casting. All of their takes on Peter are frozen and conceptually solid, not meant to really grow and change.
Both Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland physically resemble Peter Parker as he appears in Amazing Fantasy #15 and the early Lee-Ditko issues. Andrew Garfield resembles, at least in facial features, John Romita Sr's Peter. Tobey and Tom both have boxy square-shaped heads, that's quite similar to Ditko's design. Garfield's face is more angular which is how Romita Sr. did it. So in terms of resemblance, the actors are a mix.
In terms of characterization, Tobey's Peter doesn't really change or grow much after Ben dies. Garfield's Peter doesn't change or grow even when Uncle Ben dies, Tom Holland's Peter is Iron Bon Fanboy from start to finish. Neither of them show the capacity for growth that the original character did, being far more static than the character in the comics is. So on that level neither is entirely faithful. All of them capture a certain essence of the character at the expense of other aspects.
In terms of preference, I think Tobey's Peter is better as performance and characterization (in Spider-Man 1 and 2 only), then the other two.