Andrew Garfield lets us watch a man trying to absorb what he has heard before he answers. We rate his anxious warmth, though too many of his films rely on it to make up for thin writing.
Fi1m perspective
Watch Andrew Garfield listening in We Live in Time (2024): his face changes as Tobias takes in news he would rather not have heard. He makes the effort to stay composed visible without making it look rehearsed. We were moved by the early argument with Florence Pugh about having children: neither character had thought the other might disagree. John Crowley gets convincing intimacy from them, but the shuffled chronology keeps interrupting it. Editor Justine Wright's cuts between years too often break the feeling the actors have established.
Boy A (2007) established his sympathy for troubled young men, before international attention came with David Fincher's The Social Network (2010). His Eduardo Saverin brought warmth to that ensemble. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) put his vulnerability inside a franchise. He took on physically demanding biographical work in Hacksaw Ridge (2016), then sang in tick, tick... BOOM (2021). We tend to prefer his smaller reactions to his theatrical flourishes.
In Paul Greengrass's The Uprising (2026), he is doing necessary work that the screenplay has neglected. His Ploughman's reluctance makes joining the revolt feel consequential, even when the film scarcely has time to consider his choices. His dignity keeps us interested without making the character straightforwardly heroic. The crowded ensemble and relentless action keep denying him the space that would make this more than a persuasive performance in a hurried film.
Luca Guadagnino's After the Hunt (2025) finds a useful alternative to the decent man under pressure. Garfield plays Hank Gibson as someone who assumes his charm will settle any difficulty. That confidence makes his familiar warmth uncomfortable, and gives us something less reassuring to watch. Guadagnino's indecision still makes the film difficult to recommend.
The Magic Faraway Tree (2026) asks for a gentler version of that charm. As Tim Thompson, he plays a father whose cheerfulness is slightly ahead of what his circumstances justify, while Claire Foy's Polly has to be sensible. In lighter roles, he can press the sweetness too hard; the worry beneath Tim's good spirits is what interests us here. The film is kind and funny, but too reluctant to let anything trouble its family for long. We would welcome another Hank before another reassuring father.
Biography
Andrew Garfield is an English-American actor. He began his career on the West End stage and in British television before his breakout role in the television film Boy A (2007).
He received wider recognition for his portrayal of Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network (2010) and as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and its 2014 sequel, later reprising the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Garfield earned Academy Award nominations for Best Actor for Hacksaw Ridge (2016) and Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021). His other credits include We Live in Time (2024) as Tobias Durand, After the Hunt (2025) as Hank Gibson, and The Magic Faraway Tree (2026) as Tim Thompson.
