In a new interview with Sunday supplement Parade magazine, Tobey Maguire reveals his difficult childhood. He’s matter of fact about it, but it must have been painful for him and he seems quite grateful for his fame. He also sounds like he’s not secure in his immense wealth and Hollywood career and expects the other shoe to drop at any time:

Only 3 when his parents – who were 18 and 20 when he was born – split, the actor, 31, tells Parade magazine in this weekend’s issue that he nevertheless considers himself “not a victim. … They were just babies, doing whatever the heck they thought they should be doing.”

Bounced from one family member to the next as he was growing up, “I always felt that there were people in my life who cared about me – that I was special to them. It’s very complicated,” he says.

“But the truth of the matter is I realized at a young age that I was responsible for myself. My feelings of love or security or happiness – they were all in my own hands. I had plenty of difficult, emotional and scary times as a kid, but I don’t dwell on it.”

Still, the new dad admits to aftereffects. “Growing up the way I did, I had a very serious ambition to make some money, to have some security and comfort in my life,” says the star, whose Spider-Man 3 opens May 4….

Granted, he also admits, “My mentality about that has changed a bit. [But] I feel like you could drop me anywhere in the world, anonymously, and I’d figure out how to survive. If you stripped away everything I’ve got – the money, the fame, the possessions, everything – I know that I’d find a way to get along, because, basically, that’s what I’ve had to do all my life.”

He says he was very guarded with his newfound wealth at first but that he’s gradually learned to enjoy it. Maguire also says that he might want to find a different city to raise his five month old daughter, Ruby, with fiance Jennifer Myer. He says LA is laid back but that it’s also competitive and there might be a better place for his new family.

I kind of assumed that he was the type of privileged young kid that is able to get a Hollywood career through connections, and it’s refreshing to hear that he made it on his own despite such hardship. Now I know why he seems so mature beyond his years. He did have a phase of going out partying with Leonardo DiCaprio, and Tobey hasn’t been so kind to the paps, but he didn’t go buck wild either from what I remember. He’s a very good actor and was particularly skilled as the troubled jockey in Seabiscuit. He must have had a lot of experience to draw on for that role.

Here are pictures of Tobey and his fiance at the Oscars this year courtesy of Just Jared. I think Tobey’s fiance is attractive although I know some of you are going to bash her. She just had a baby and she looks damn good to me. You also often see her out with her child, so it’s not like she’s handing the baby off to a nanny all day. Jennifer Myer is a successful jewelry designer and is the daughter of Universal Studios head Ron Meyer.