Shameik Moore spies another breakthrough by bringing Miles Morales to life in 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'

For Shameik Moore, the chance to play webslinger Miles Morales in Sony's animated "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" wasn't just the opportunity of a lifetime; it was fated.

"While we were filming the movie 'Dope,' I wrote in my journal: 'I am Miles Morales, I am Spider-Man,'" he said over lunch in Beverly Hills.

Moore, who'd go on to give a breakthrough performance in "Dope" - Rick Famuyiwa's coming-of-age comedy about a '90s-obsessed, South L.A. teenager - was onto something. Not long after he spoke it into existence, Sony execs caught wind of the relative newcomer at a 2015 Sundance Film Festival screening of the film.

"He had a really interesting performance (in 'Dope'), and his voice was pretty interesting," said "Spider-Verse" director Bob Persichetti, who co-directed the film, which opens nationwide on Friday, with Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman.

The directors sent Moore a few pages of the script and asked him to record