When Andrew Garfield was first starting out in Hollywood, he was in good company with other young British actors trying to land their breakthrough role. During this time, he befriended other actors like Eddie Redmayne, Jamie Dornan and Robert Pattinson, and they merged somewhat of a friend group. Garfield even lived with Redmayne and Dornan for a while. Coincidentally, this rag-tag squad of up-and-comers all made it big, and Garfield recently opened up about what he believes to be the most “amazing” aspect of that brotherhood.
The Social Network star appeared on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast and chatted about aspects of his career. He also discussed his and Florence Pugh’s new film, We Live In Time. Talk soon turned to the group of now-famous English movie stars the Spider-Man veteran befriended along the way. He humorously named off the likes of Robert Pattinson, Charlie Cox and co. While the Oscar nominee told stories about goofy shenanigans, he also reflected on how he and his chums side-stepped the competitive nature of their industry:
What is great – and we all are still very close. We see each other less frequently, because [of] life, family and children. But, when we do see each other, it’s like a family feeling. What’s amazing about that group of actors is that we wore our jealousy and our envy on our sleeves with each other, and we made fun of ourselves for it. And we made fun of each other for it. And, because of that, I think, because of the ownership of that, it’s gonna be an inherent dynamic between young, striving, struggling actors. It’s like, ‘Well, we can either own this or pretend like it’s not there, and then we can really try and sabotage each other.’ But, if we own it, there’s no sabotage there, and then we can actually sincerely fully support each other.
It’s great that the supportive energy and desire for everyone to be successful transcended any ill-will towards missed opportunities or losing roles to each other. One might even assume that this outlook and dynamic may have even contributed to all of the actors continuing to try and make it in the industry and the entire group achieving a level of movie star success. Andrew Garfield also revealed that it was Eddie Redmayne who initially set this light tone. The story that the Hacksaw Ridge star shared on that front is quite sweet:
I remember the first time I really felt that was with Eddie. Because I think coming into a group of guys could be competitive, and I was brought up in a very competitive house. So my first go-to is, ‘Who do I have to beat up in order to whatever?’ Like ‘actor beat up.’ … But Eddie was immediately so self-deprecating and so charming … [He] was just telling us horror stories of his worst auditions, most embarrassing auditions ever. And I was like, ‘This is so sweet. This is so lovely.’ Yeah, he’s someone who really wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s a beautiful man. They all are. They’re all just great, great guys. I love them all.
I’m not surprised to hear that Eddie Redmayne was the one to set a friendly tone so early. He always seems to have an earnest, upbeat aura around him, even if the roles he takes can sometimes be deeply serious. When it comes to the group as a whole, it was ultimately Robert Pattinson who achieved fame first, with Twilight being a phenomenon. However, the others were shortly behind starring in their own Oscar-worthy films and blockbuster franchises, and it’s not hard to understand why.
It’s so sweet that not only did this friendship form and hold up when Andrew Garfield and co. all needed support the most but has continued as they have become successful. They all love telling stories about their early acting goofs. Over the years, fans have heard the story of Eddie Redmayne witnessing Robert Pattinson’s unique audition techniques for the first time or, as mentioned during this latest interview, the time that Andrew Garfield recording videos after Jamie Dornan was injured after a ski accident.
Whenever these men reunite on red carpets, it’s always adorable, but what really shouldn’t be understated is the continued support they show each other. That’s rare in Hollywood and, quite frankly, I do find it “amazing” that Andrew Garfield and his fellow performers avoided any jealousy and quickly rooted for each other.
You can see Andrew Garfield in A24’sWe Live In Time, which is playing in theaters nationwide. Critics are high on Garfield and Florence Pugh’s film, which is directed by John Crowley, so make sure to check it out on the big screen.
