Andrew Garfield Once Felt He Would’ve Turned Into Justin Bieber if He Became Famous Earlier
Justin Bieber was who Andrew Garfield figured he’d turn into if he became famous at a younger age. Because of this, the actor was grateful he didn’t become a star in his teenage years.
Andrew Garfield once believed that celebrity was the new religion
Garfield has never been shy about his feelings towards being famous. The actor spoke with his No Way Home co-star star Zendaya about how he reacted to his newfound celebrity status at a young age.
“When I did my first Spider-Man film, I was your age — 25, 26. And I wasn’t ready, man. I was like, I need to back off, because I don’t know who I am yet. And my prefrontal cortex is still forming,” Garfield said on Variety.
He also described the difficulties of adjusting to fame in a resurfaced interview with Vulture. There, Garfield likened celebrity to a new type of religion.
“That was my experience with the Spider-Man thing. It’s like, ‘Oh, f***, my life is now great!’ But in fact, I’m still f***** up in my own ways, and insecure, and scared, and don’t really know who I am. Celebrity is the new religion, as far as I can see, along with money, power, status. It’s all the same umbrella — the seductive forces of evil, really,” he said.
Andrew Garfield felt he would’ve become like Justin Bieber if he became famous earlier
The Silence star may have had his own problems with being famous. But as young as he was, he was grateful he didn’t achieve fame when he was even younger. He was convinced he might have gone off the rails.
“If I had had these opportunities when I was younger, I would have been Justin Bieber,” he once told Time Out(via Contact Music). “If you’re a 16-year old kid and you can do whatever the f*** you want, you’re making trillions of dollars and you have a leopard-print Ferrari, it’s not healthy. If I was going through what I’m going through now when I was 16, I might have ended up in jail.”
Andrew Garfield once believed that celebrity culture was a lie
Garfield once explained that celebrity culture could sometimes contribute to a dangerous and unhealthy mindset. He believed that skill and talent weren’t just exclusive to those in the public eye, something he felt others needed reminding of.
“We all have certain gifts that we have to give, we have to bring, otherwise there’s no hope for real community, there’s no hope for real change,” he once told the Daily Beast. “And if we keep worshipping the wrong thing, or if we keep worshipping the same human beings we call geniuses, we are forgetting the genius within each and every one of us.”
The Oscar-nominee also didn’t agree with the notion of celebrities being idolized to the point of worship. Being in that space, it’s an idea that made him uncomfortable.
“It goes back to this false worship thing. Being on the receiving end of that is what really tips me over the edge. That’s what made me really go, ‘We’re f*****,'” he continued. “Because if you’re looking up to me in a way that’s unnatural, then you’re looking in the wrong place. It’s a spell and it keeps people from who they actually are. It’s just a lie. Celebrity is a lie. There’s no such thing as a celebrity. There is no one out there more important than anyone else and the hierarchy that we’re in is a lie.”
