Andrew Garfield Reveals Why He Is Taking A Break From Acting
He's certainly earned it.
Andrew Garfield has had a stellar couple of years. At the 2022 Oscars he was honored with his second Best Leading Actor nomination for his performance in tick, tick… BOOM! He starred opposite Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and he’s getting some love from the critics for his true crime drama Under the Banner of Heaven. Of course, there was his triumphant return to the role of Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which proved so redemptive it sparked discussion of a possible third entry to his The Amazing Spider-Man story. But just when his career seems to be the very definition of “on top,” Garfield is saying he’s taking a break to “be a regular person.”
In a story posted to People yesterday, Andrew Garfield said he’s “really happy and excited to be very quiet and very still and take some time to just be.” The star says he feels the pull to keep making movies and TV series, but he thinks it’s time to rein that urge in. Garfield told People, “It feels very important right now, especially after a lot of output, a lot of being out in the world, and giving a lot of energy to things that I’m very passionate about, but I have to kind of refill the well so that I can carry on authentically — carry on without it feeling like I have to keep up with the Joneses in some way.”
Andrew Garfield pointed to a couple of celebrities who had inspired him with their willingness to put their health before their ambitions. One was Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, who withdrew from many of her events in the 2020 Olympics after experiencing symptoms alternatively called the yips or the twisties, which cause gymnasts and other athletes to temporarily lose their awareness while performing. The other was rapper Kendrick Lamar who — while poised to release his fifth studio album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers next month — hadn’t released one since 2017’s Damn. “I really admire anyone who can forego the temptation of having to be always on the up and up,” Garfield said of Biles and Lamar. “Someone who can really be on their own rhythm, bang to the beat of their own drum.”
As for what he’ll be doing with his time off, Andrew Garfield doesn’t seem to have any specific plans. Asked about whether or not he plans to travel, the actor responded, “even getting on a plane right now feels like too much.” Garfield goes on to describe what sounds like a pretty relaxed, non-frills kind of time. “I kind of want to lay down and just think and not think and watch other people’s work… and listen to music and be with friends and eat burgers, you know, just kind of be a person.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s going away immediately. The first two episodes of his mini-series Under the Banner of Heaven premiere today on FX and Hulu, with episodes releasing weekly until the seventh and final episode on June 2nd. Andrew Garfield stars as Detective Jeb Pyre, whose faith is shaken to the core as he investigates murders in a Mormon family. Garfield is also one of a number of big names — including Cate Blanchett, Ralph Fiennes, and Rooney Mara — attached to an upcoming BBC remake of the ’80s mini-series Brideshead Revisited. However, when the remake was announced in late 2020, Deadline called it “premature,” and there’s been little word about it ever since. It seems likely Garfield’s break will come before the mini-series remake, provided the series is even going to happen.
