Andrew Russell Garfield (born August 20,1983) is an American-English actor. Born in Los Angeles, Calif., Garfield was raised in Epsom, England. He made his feature film debut in the 2007 ensemble drama Lions for Lambs. He is best known for his roles in The Social Network, for which he received Golden Globe and Bafta nominations, Never Let Me Go, for which he received a Saturn Award and a BAFTA nomination, and most notably for his role as Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man film series.

ANDREW GARFIELD BIO: EARLY LIFE

Garfield was born to an English mother, Lynn (née Hillman) and an American father, Richard Garfield. He was born in Los Angeles but was brought up in Surrey just outside of Greater London. Garfield has an older brother who is now a doctor.

Garfield began taking acting classes in Guildford, Surrey, when he was 12, and appeared in a youth theatre production of Bugsy Malone. Garfield originally wanted to study business but instead decided to pursue his passion for the stage. He was accepted into the Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London and graduated in 2004.

ANDREW GARFIELD: CAREER AND BREAKTHROUGH

Garfield’s breakthrough came in 2007 when he starred in dramas Lions for Lambs and Boy A. In Lions For Lambs he acted opposite major Hollywood heavyweights Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise. Garfield discussed his audition for the role with The Guardian in 2007:

“I was physically not what he had in mind. I remember saying I know you want a football player, a frat boy, but I’ll eat more, I’ll work out.”

In Boy A, Garfield played a young man (Jack) who, egged on by a schoolfriend, committed a brutal murder as a child. He is released from prison and must content with the struggles of readjusting to normal life. The actor won major praise for his intelligently nuanced portrayal and went on to win the Best Actor award at the 2008 BAFTA TV awards. Joe Morgenstern, the critic for The Wall Street Journal, dubbed Garfield’s performance “phenomenal,” assessing that he “makes room for the many and various pieces of Jack’s personality.”

His profile grew considerably through parts in Never Let Me Go, a dystopian film co-starring Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan, and The Social Network, a biopic based on the real life story of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg.

In Never Let Me Go Garfield played a dim but well-meaning young man caught in a love triangle and won the 2010 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role. The Social Network was very well received, grossing over $220 million at the box office and receiving eight Oscar nominations. In the film Garfield portrayed Eduardo Saverin, one time best friend to Mark Zuckerberg, who took legal action against him when Zuckerberg claimed Saverin had played no part in helping him create Facebook.

On his character, Garfield remarked that, “No one knows who Eduardo Saverin is, and I don’t either. Of course, the fact he’s a real-life human being, breathing on this Earth somewhere, creates a whole new dimension to my approach because you feel a greater sense of responsibility.”

Andrew Garfield: The Amazing Spider-Man

Garfield’s biggest role to date came when he was cast as Peter Parker in Sony’s reboot of the lucrative film franchise that had previously starred Tobey Maguire in the lead role and had only ended four years prior. Garfield was cast to play the teenage superhero, despite being 29 years-old at the time of the film’s release.

The film performed well at the box office and Garfield’s take on the character was appreciated by fans and critics alike. The Guardian‍‍ ’‍s Peter Bradshaw acclaimed his portrayal as the “definitive Spider-Man,” Tom Charity of CNN commended his “combination of fresh-faced innocence, nervous agitation and wry humor,” and Peter Travers, writing in Rolling Stone, said Garfield gave a stellar performance. It was on the set of the film that he also met long-term girlfriend Emma Stone.

The actor reprised the role in a 2014 sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but it did not fare as well as its predecessor had, both critically and commercially. The film was criticized for its over-stuffed plot and lack of cohesion in tone. Garfield and Stone’s performances were appreciated, however, with Tim Robey of The Telegraph writing that despite the film’s shortcomings, “the sparks between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone save the day”.

Sony was not pleased with the film’s overall reception, however, and made the decision not to greenlight another sequel. It was subsequently announced that the studio would reimagine the character for a third time in less than 15 years, meaning Garfield would be recast.

Talking to The Daily Beast about the decision he said that he “genuinely loved” the original script for the second film, but “certain people at the studio [Sony Pictures] had problems with certain parts of it”. He said:

I think what happened was, through the pre-production, production, and post-production, when you have something that works as a whole, and then you start removing portions of it – because there was even more of it than was in the final cut, and everything was related. Once you start removing things and saying, ‘No, that doesn’t work,’ then the thread is broken, and it’s hard to go with the flow of the story.

Andrew Garfield: Post-Spider-Man Work

Moving on quickly from the disappointment of Spider-Man, Garfield starred in the well-received drama 99 Homes. The drama, which Garfield also co-produced, follows single father Dennis Nash (Garfield) and his family as they are evicted from their home by businessman Rick Carver (Michael Shannon), forcing Nash to help Carver in evicting people out of their homes in exchange for keeping their own.

Garfield spoke to uInterview about his difficult role, saying his character was “on the precipice between survival and some form of giving up.” He also spoke about the research he did for the part in Florida where he spoke with people who had lost their homes and found themselves left with nothing.

He next appeared in Martin Scorsese‘s film, Silence, in 2016. Garfield played Father Rodrigues, a Portuguese Jesuit priest in the seventeenth century who travels to Japan.

In 2021, Garfield returned to the Spider-Man universe in Spider-Man: No Way Home, starring Tom Holland and Zendaya. That same year, Garfield starred in Tick, Tick… Boom!, which was directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and depicted the life of playwright Jonathan Larson. The film also featured Vanessa Hudgens and Phillipa Soo and was nominated for several awards.

Andrew Garfield: Dating & Personal Life

Garfield began dating long-term girlfriend, actress Emma Stone in 2011, when they met on the set of The Amazing Spider-Man. Director Mark Webb hired Stone for the part when he recognized the blatant chemistry between the two in an audition scene.

After a long on-and-off relationship, Garfield and Stone officially ended things in 2022.

Garfield holds both American and British citizenship and splits his time between the two.

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