There was an interview I gave where I said, ‘Why can’t Peter explore his bisexuality in his next film? Why can’t MJ be a guy?’ I was then put under a lot of pressure to retract that and apologize for saying something that is a legitimate thing to think and feel. “I worked harder than I’ve ever worked on anything and I’m really proud of it,” Garfield said in 2019. Leaked emails later alleged Garfield didn’t want to attend a gala linked to the release of the 2014 film, derisively claiming he just wanted “to be left alone.”Īs Garfield explained, though, he had some deeper issues with the production that couldn’t be glossed over with a fancy, red carpet event. He did not come back for a third film, and the feeling appeared to be mutual at the time. The actor appeared in 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man and the follow-up 2014 film The Amazing Spider-Man 2, both distributed by Sony Pictures. The 38-year-old actor and producer told The Independent back in 2019 that he felt pressured to apologize for questioning the iconic character’s potential bisexuality to sell tickets to homophobes. With the leaked news that former Spider-Man actors Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire will be joining the latest arthropodous superhero Tom Holland in the upcoming flick Spider-Man: No Way Home, Garfield’s past comments about his experiences starring in two previous movies have resurfaced. Garfield has earned comparisons to James Franco for his comments-Franco, memorably, conducted an interview with himself last year, playing “straight James” and “gay James.” By all accounts, Garfield’s portrayal of Prior Walter is sensitive and nuanced and even a little campy in a good way. Rather, his remarks reveal a sort of tone-deafness about trying on a different identity, as one commenter noted, as a “ straight tourist.” Another remarked, “ speaking of, I am rich without the physical act.” If he was concerned about his right to play a gay man on stage, the answer isn’t exactly to become a gay man. To be clear, a person can certainly identify as gay without participating in sexual relationships, but that’s not really Garfield’s point.
I am a gay man right now just without the physical act-that’s all,” he said. (He earns a bit of cred for having watched all nine seasons of the series.) The play had been in production for around a year, and Garfield explained that some of his most significant preparation came outside rehearsals-s pending Sunday evenings watching RuPaul’s Drag Race with his friends. “I had to trust it was the right thing,” he said.
It’s a valid concern, given the dearth of roles representing openly LGBTQ individuals on screen and, to a slightly lesser extent, on major stage productions, and Garfield goes on to explain that the playwright Kushner asked him to take the part. I adore it, but a big concern was what right do I have to play this wonderful gay role?” “Maybe I’ll have an awakening later in my life, which I’m sure will be wonderful and I’ll get to explore that part of the garden, but right now I’m secluded to my area, which is wonderful as well. When asked about the challenges of preparing for his role and the kind of research involved, Garfield responded, “As far as I know, I am not a gay man,” according to the Gay Times, who attended the panel. (Trump mentor Roy Cohn, as embodied by Lane, plays a large part.) The play, which takes place over several months at the end of 1985, examines the AIDS epidemic in the United States and its intersection with the Reagan-era political landscape. The new production of Angels in America, which runs nearly eight hours, opened in early May with Garfield and Nathan Lane fronting the cast.
The revival, which premiered two months ago on the 25th anniversary of its 1992 opening in San Francisco, has garnered largely flattering attention for its starry cast and contemporary resonance.īut on Monday, Garfield became the subject of slightly less congratulatory attention for telling a panel discussion audience he is living as a gay man right now-“just without the physical act.” Which, you know, isn’t really how it works. As the star of a new production of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America, actor Andrew Garfield, erstwhile Spider-Man and lover of Disneyland and pot brownies, plays Prior Walter, a gay man diagnosed with AIDS in mid-1980s New York City.