Gritty historical film casts 43-year-old British-American actor Andrew Garfield as a fictitious farmer during the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, which saw thousands of English serfs march on London demanding their freedom. Times of great societal change are a theme for Garfield this year – the former actor will also soon star as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in , a movie about the dangers of AI. Garfield, then, has one foot in the past, another in the future. But for now, the present...
is about the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. Did you have an interest in the history beforehand?
We learnt about it in school, but it was all through the perspective of the people who won! The peasants were always referred to as a rabble, a dumb mass. What I found moving about this script was how it humanised the suffering of these people who were asking for basic human rights and dignity.
Do you think “the people” still have that kind of power?
I do have hope in good people getting together to create a new world. But I think the resistance to that is as strong as it’s ever been and also more covert than it’s ever been. In that sense, feels like a mirror – it’s about a small group of oligarchs influencing the king, hoarding their wealth and keeping common people down. It’s about the split of resources and power between that small group and the rest of the country.
has been marketed as the “rise of Robin Hood” in the US. The film plays with that iconography but it’s not about Robin Hood. What do you make of that?
That’s a question for a marketing person rather than me. There are people who know more than I do about how to sell a film and get people excited to see it. I do love that aspect of the story, though. I love the emerging archetype coming through the cracks of the psyche during this period, that archetype of the outlaw, taking God’s law into his or her own hands. It was a direct response to injustice.
I mostly wanted to be an actor who can disappear as much as possible into the work he’s doing
You’re also soon in , playing the role of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. You could argue that both films are set in times of seismic societal change...
Yes! I was so giddy with the contrast. It was fascinating to step into the psyche of one of our tech figureheads, Sam Altman, someone at the far end of the spectrum of power and wealth, and then straight after step to the other end with . It was fascinating to feel the polarity of those two experiences.
How do you feel about AI after filming ?
I’m very curious and healthily afraid. It’s our civic duty to interrogate who the human beings are that we’re allowing to shape this technology. But I’m left with a longing to stay connected to our humanity and to nature itself.
Is there an added responsibility when you play real-life figures?
For sure, 100 per cent. I feel nervous when I’m playing someone who is still living. It’s a strange choice to do such work. But I guess it excites me as well.
The most recent movie has become one of the biggest films of all time. As a former Spidey yourself [in 2012, 2014 and 2021], why does he connect with people?
It’s a weird thing, isn’t it? I think he might be the most popular character in the history of fiction. There’s a fantasy-fulfilment aspect. There’s the thing of him being incredibly ordinary and incredibly extraordinary. He’s a decent kid and we all like to identify as decent kids. It also helps that the suit covers every millimetre of the body. Anyone can place themselves into that suit.
Your filmography since playing Spider-Man has trended towards smaller, arguably more serious films. Was that a conscious decision?
Maybe somewhat conscious, maybe somewhat unconscious. I mostly wanted to be an actor who can disappear as much as possible into the work he’s doing. I love being associated with Spider-Man, and I’m very proud of that. But I also love being associated with the newer projects I’ve done.
You’ve spoken in the past about your experience of grief after losing your mother Lynn in 2019. How have you found being so open about that?
I’m an actor, and I have the luxury of being able to feel for a living. That’s a privilege and there aren’t a lot of spaces in our world that allow for it. That may be one of the reasons I felt a compulsion to talk publicly about the huge chasm of grief I was feeling. The only way we really heal is if we heal together and share our griefs. If I don’t allow myself an emotional life of truth, it can feel harmful to my soul.
Has losing your mother changed how you work as an actor?
Everything has shifted since then: my approach not only to work but to everything in my life. The message I receive daily from her is: be exactly who you are in the world. I like the idea that you get to the end of your life and there’s someone waiting for you, and they ask: were you yourself? Were you Andrew to the hilt of what Andrew was supposed to be?