Andrew Garfield Speaks Candidly About His 'Spider Man' Experience

When Andrew Garfield was revealed as the person to take on the role of Spider-Man in the "Amazing Spider-Man" series, he was so enthusiastic and cheery about the news.

It has, however, been over a year since his debut, and things took quite a different turn. The actor recently talked about his experience and the "devastating" effect of leading a global series.

Garfield landed the most envied role of Spider-Man in July 2010. This was months before the premiere of "The Social Network," which skyrocketed the actor to stardom and earned him global acclaim.

The movie grossed so much at the box office and was set to launch other sequels, a "Venom" movie, and a "Sinister Six" film. When the first sequel of "The Amazing Spider-Man" hit theaters, it underperformed compared to past Spider-Man films and accrued several negative reactions and criticisms.

Because of that, Sony Pictures discontinued the franchise and decided to team up with Marvel Studios and reboot Spider-Man once more. There was also a switch in actors from Garfield to Tom Holland.

In his interview with The Guardian, he admitted that he went into "The Amazing Spider-Man" with a whole heart but ended up being heartbroken.

"I got my heart broken a little bit," the actor disclosed. "I went from being a naive boy to growing up. How could I ever imagine that it was not going to be a pure experience?"

He continued, "There are millions of dollars at stake and that's what guides the ship. It was a big awakening and it hurt." To better understand this, the first Spider-Man movie, which featured Garfield, amassed more than 758 million USD globally, while the second grossed about 709 million USD.

"Comic-Con in San Diego is full of grown men and women still in touch with that pure thing the character meant to them. When you add in market forces and test groups, the focus is less on the soul of it and more on ensuring we make as much money as possible," he said.

"And I found that — find that — heartbreaking in all matters of the culture. Money is the thing that has corrupted all of us and led to the terrible ecological collapse that we are all about to die under."

In another interview with Variety, the actor admitted that the experience in the superhero movie was part memorable because of Emma Stone. "It was only beautiful," he said. "I got to meet Emma Stone and work with her and Sally Field."

When Garfield took on the role of Peter Parker in 2012's and 2014's "The Amazing Spider-Man," it was alongside Stone, who played Parker's romantic interest. The romance spilled into real life, where the couple dated for four years before they split in October 2015.

Since then, both actors have been friendly and expressed support for one another through the media.

"We care about each other so much, and that's a given, that's kind of this unconditional thing," Garfield stated in a podcast with Vanity Fair. "There's so much love between us and so much respect."

Aside from Stone, the actor also talked about his relationship with other people in Sony. One of them was Amy Pascal, the former head of Sony Pictures.

"We would fight, but ultimately, we loved each other on a deep level," he explained. "We tried to meet as much in the middle as we could in terms of why I wanted to do this role, and what her needs were as the head of the studio."

Since being replaced by Tom Holland for the Spider-Man franchise, Garfield has mainly stayed away from other franchise work and opted for smaller-scale movies like "Hacksaw Ridge" and "Silence."

His 2021 was also reportedly packed with roles in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" and the upcoming musical titled "Tick, Tick...Boom!" This is a biopic of Jonathan Larson, a theatre composer who tries to navigate love, friendship, and life pressures as an artist in New York City.

Other actors featured in this movie include Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesús, Joshua Henry, Judith Light, and Vanessa Hudgens.

Garfield denied his association with the third movie released in the Spider-Man franchise in an interview with Variety. However, he added that he knew nothing would convince his fans of his honesty.

"I understand why people are freaking out about the concept of that because I'm a fan as well," he stated in the interview. "You can't help but imagine scenes and moments of 'Oh, my God, how fucking cool would it be if they did that?'"

The actor also emphasized his denial and said, "But it's important for me to say on the record that this is not something I'm aware I am involved in. But I know I'm not going to be able to say anything that will convince anyone that I don't know what's happening. No matter what I say, I'm fucked. It's either going to be really disappointing for people or it's going to be really exciting."