Andrew Garfield Starved Himself of ‘Sex and Food’ for 1 of His Movies
Andrew Garfield made headlines in 2021 for his “surprise” appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home. But the actor has gone a lot further than lying in multiple interviews for a role. In fact, Garfield has opened up about the lengths he went to for one of his most challenging roles. The actor reportedly starved himself of “sex and food’ for one particular movie.
Andrew Garfield has done a lot more than ‘Spider-Man’
Garfield might be best known to mainstream audiences for his work in The Amazing Spider-Man films. But the actor’s filmography extends far beyond his webslinging days. In fact, his breakthrough role predates his debut as Peter Parker.
Although Garfield had appeared in several films before it, 2010’s The Social Network marked the first time he really stood out. Many believe he deserved an Oscar nod for his performance as Eduardo Saverin.
Over the past few years, Garfield has earned much acclaim for his work since. He even received Academy Award nominations for his leading performances in 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge and 2021’s Tick, Tick… Boom!
Moreover, the actor received strong reviews for 99 Homes, Under the Silver Lake, and The Eyes of Tammy Faye. But one specific project led Garfield to go to extremes to get into character.
The actor embraced Method acting for 2016’s ‘Silence’
In 2016’s Silence, Garfield and Adam Driver play 17th-century Jesuit priests who journey to Japan to locate their mentor (Liam Neeson). The film – directed by Martin Scorsese – earned critical praise and some awards attention, but it ultimately didn’t become a box office success.
Nevertheless, Garfield looks back fondly at his preparation for the role. In a recent interview, Garfield even defended the controversial approach of Method acting, citing his work in Silence. “It was very cool, man,” Garfield said on WTF with Marc Maron (via Variety).
“I had some pretty wild, trippy experiences from starving myself of sex and food at that time.” The actor even studied under a Jesuit writer, diving deep into research on Catholicism. He also went celibate and committed himself to fast for six months to play Sebastião Rodrigues in Scorsese’s film.
Andrew Garfield just landed his first Emmy nomination
Silence might not have achieved the widespread success of some of Garfield’s other films. But even coming off of losing the Academy Award for Best Actor to Will Smith in 2022, the actor is still steadily getting attention for his work on screen. In fact, he just landed his first Emmy Award nomination for his role as Detective Jeb Pyre in Under the Banner of Heaven.
On the FX on Hulu miniseries, Garfield and Gil Birmingham play detectives investigating a murder that may or may not be tied to the Mormon community. The show premiered in April 2022 to solid reviews but has really gained attention for its performances.
