Andrew Garfield

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We're going to talk about being method, but not being a jerk. And we're going to talk about his new movie, The Uprising, which is out now and looks incredible, like all of the stuff that Andrew does. So we're very, very excited to get started. But we always start our episodes by speaking to somebody who knows our guest, who has worked with our guest, has good things to say about our guests behind their back. We're going to talk to a legend, Lin-Manuel Miranda. You know him from, oh, I don't know, Hamilton and Moana and the upcoming Warriors musical and five other million things that he's won 10 EGOTs for. Lin? Hi. This episode is brought to you by Uber. You know, those little choices you make that give you more comfort through the world. You know, you're not alone. You're not alone. You're not alone. You're not like planning your outfit the night before, sharing your location with a friend when heading home late, taking the actual lunch break away from your desk. Uber has one too. It's called Women Preferences, and it lets women riders request a woman driver directly in the app because sometimes having a little more choice can make a big difference. It's a simple option that can help women feel more comfortable during their ride. Learn more on the Uber app. Lin? Hi. Hi. I can't wait to get you into the stude. Can I tell you, I had a, I had a nightmare about that once. You did? I had a nightmare that like, uh, you invited me on, but you didn't, I could tell you didn't really want me to be on. Like someone had you and you were like, come in, I guess. Oh, that's making me nauseous. Like you were very unenthusiastic about it. Uh, sit down, I guess. And it wasn't your usual set. It was just like some apartment where I was like, I was like a pity guest. Oh, that's giving everybody the chills in here. So that is a, that is a proper stress dream. Woke up in a sweat. I can handle a lot of things I cannot handle not being a good hang with you. Oh my God. I'm so sorry that I was that way in your dream in real life. And we are awake and I can't wait to get you in here. I am such a fan of your work. Love would love to talk to you and would be so happy to be talking to you. Oh my goodness gracious. Yes. Yes. Yes. And so happy to be talking to you today where it looks like you're in some kind of studio. There's a piano behind you. Yes. We, uh, we are in day two of our workshop for, uh, our next musical come out to play. That's the one. Um, so Issa Davis and I are here in the room. There must be no better feeling than like working with the piano and like hearing people sing in the other room and just the workshopping of it all. Yeah. Well, it's the, it's the thing of like other people, you get the solitude of writing and then you also get to like bring in a song and then people who sing much better than you sound beautiful on it. And it's, it's, you know, I had so much fun with your episode with Groff, who is also like one of my closest friends because just the joy off him is like, we're in the play. We get to be in the school play and, and we're all still chasing that high. Yes. Well, I feel that way, um, you know, uh, about you, Lynn, like, I feel, I know that everybody that works with you feels that way. Like you're such a collaborator. You love the process. You love making things better, you know, you know, letting the best idea win. Like you can feel that. And also you're a fan. Um, like you've never stopped being a fan of the thing that you're doing. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. No, it's, it is. I mean, it's why I had so much fun when I was on SNL. It was, it's, it's the school play on steroids. It's like a supercharged version of the, the, the thing that got me hooked on this art form of like, we, we get to make it like, and we get to make something bigger than any of us could make alone, I think is, is the big thing. Yes. So well said. So well said. Um, and, and you got to work with sweet Andrew Garfield. Sweet, sweet Andrew Garfield. First of all, congratulations on Tick, Tick, Boom. What a beautiful film. It makes my life that you even know what that is and have seen it. Of course. I loved the performance, loved your direction. What incredible cast. Like, can we talk about it just for a second? Because I know it, you know, it was, it's personal material. It's also about a person's life who, and Andrew is kind of actor who's played a lot of real people as I've been looking at his career. And like, could you imagine even a more considerate and like take somebody's real life into their hands? But can you just tell me how did you guys come together to make that? How did that, uh, how did that happen? Sure. I, um, I, you know, most of my, um, familiarity with Andrew's work was actually theater. Like I was lucky enough to see him in death of a salesman with Philip Seymour Hoffman. Um, and he was unreal in that. And then I, uh, I saw him in angels in America, both parts, which is like, it's a day. It's your day. You go to the matinee to see part one, you eat dinner, you see part two, they're both three hours long. Um, and I didn't know whether he had a musical bone in his body, but it's such an endurance test that play. And he was so magnificent in it that I was just like, this guy can do anything. I just thought, I don't know if he can sing, but I think he can do anything. Yeah. Andrew and I had like exchanged an email or two in our lives. He was a fan of Hamilton. And so I, um, I said, can we go out to like dinner before your performance? He was, he was doing angels, uh, in on Broadway at the time. And I took him out to sushi and I told him about, uh, the movie we were working on. And I said, can you sing? And he said, um, when are you making this? And I go not for a year. And he goes, then I can sing. Amazing. Well, that will, that's kind of like the theme of what I want to talk to him about today is like, he works very hard. He's a really hard worker and takes, I think a lot of, um, pride in that. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. He, he wants the work. He wants the, the discipline and like you have to be a monk to do eight shows a week. Like you actually have to like know when you're eating, know exactly what you're putting in your body so that you are at your peak at 7.00 PM, 8.00 PM that night. He has played a monk. And like lives it, like he truly lives it. And you know how I feel about Broadway? Absolutely too many shows. I've said this. Well, to quote you in Wet Hot American Summer, theater is now and it's you. That is true. Which I watch maybe once a month. I watch that speech to myself. Very obtuse. Yeah. It makes perfect sense. It's now and it's you. Yeah. I mean, you, you basically played me in that, me at 14 in that movie, like, guys, this is serious. And then you learn, well, you learn, oh, no one wants to work with that person. Like your job is to make the most fun room possible so that people choose doing the play over basketball, over debate team. Like, no, no, actually this is the most fun place to be. Not guys. We're going to work steps. Story of my life. Story of my life, which is just like, just chill. Oh, chill out. Just, just pump the brakes on whatever you're saying. Okay. So, um, do you have a question you think I should ask Andrew today? Anything big, small? Well, my, my, yeah, my question comes with a story, which is that, um, you know, famously Andrew, like learned to sing, like took a year and then came out on the other end and was just like an amazing singer for my movie. And there was a sequence we had to shoot that was, uh, swimming pool scene. Jonathan Larson, like would swim to get his ideas. And he wrote this great stream of consciousness song and he gets the idea while he's doing laps. And I, you know, had three days in the actual pool. Larson swam in, in the village and, uh, you know, had a stunt double for all of the like complicated underwater photography, had a special underwater photographer. And then I found out Andrew is basically Michael Phelps. Like his dad is a swim instructor. That's right. And Andrew swam better than my stunt double. So my question is, like, one, what are the other superpowers you have that a director hasn't tapped yet? And one, like, what feels like even too much of a challenge? Like, he learned to sing for me. Martin Scorsese, like, threw him into the wild. Like, he's really taken on some – I think he gets very excited by the challenges. Like, what's one where – what's something that really scares him that he would still probably do? That's a great question, and I think he's going to love it because I think he is very driven exactly by what you said, by the challenge of what to do next. And, yeah, and I never know what he's going to do next. It's always really interesting. I mean, his new film that's out is about a peasant revolt. Yeah, and then he goes from that to Sam Altman. Like, it's crazy. I know, crazy. Well, Lynn, I loved talking to you. I think we're going to have a very good time and not a scary dream time. We'll miss each other. Thank you. I appreciate that. And thanks for stepping away. Absolutely. Have fun with Andrew. He's a lovey, lovey, love. Okay. Take care. Thanks again. Awesome. Bye. Bye. This episode is brought to you by Allstate. Checking Allstate first could save you hundreds on car insurance. Not checking whether you set an alarm before having an afternoon power nap only to wake up two hours later, drowsy, confused, so many missed calls. Yeah, checking first is a good idea. So check Allstate. First for an auto quote. It could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate North American Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. Andrew Garfield is here. We're talking about smells. Do you feel like you have a delicate, do you feel like you have a sensitive nose? Can you smell things? I do. I feel like I'm a super smeller. Do you not? Do not. I bet you, I bet you are sensitive to smells. If I can't, if I can't deal with, smell is my number one, my number one sense. I'm the best at it. What do you think is your best of the five senses? What is your best? What's my best sense? What's my most accomplished sense? We've got smell. So remind me of the others. Okay, we've got smell. We've got hearing. Ah, yep. We've got sight. We've got touch. And what's the other one? Taste. Oh, yeah. I always forget taste. Are you kidding? I'm not, I'm not going to be humble about this. Don't be. And I don't, and I don't mean to brag at the same time. I'm kind of trying to be neutral. I love a brag. I'd say touch. Damn. This is the beginning of the worst or the best date ever. But touch. So do you, okay, let me ask you a touch question. Cause I enjoy, I enjoy, I enjoy, um, I like how things feel. Like I like the texture. You're a tactile. I'm a tactile person as well. Yeah. When you're shopping for clothes, do you do what I do? Which is you just, you go. You just go like this. For real. If it's not soft, I'm not interested. You go, you sniff it. And then you touch. Fabric. Yeah. You know what I love? Yes. Can I tell you? Yes. Can I tell you anyway? Yes. Felt. I fucking love felt. Fucking hell. What do we got? Hold on. Stand by. We're going to start the interview. I know where the felt is in this room. I'm like a divining rod for felt. Hold on. Okay. This is, we're recording in New York. I have more felt in LA. Okay. But. Yeah. LA is much more felt friendly. This is a, this is a fake cheeseburger. Open that up. Oh my God. This is a, that's a hard felt. It's a little hard. Yeah. It's a little hard. This felt is not, it's not, it's not Munich felt. I was just in Munich. Munich felt. You know, I told you I like felt. Say more. There's a, there's a Munich, Munich is known for its felt making. Whoa, cool. That's all I got. And it has like specific, you can tell. Beautifully made felt. So I was, I was shooting in Munich. This is a great podcast story. I was shooting in Munich. Yes. And I didn't have much time on my hands. I was shooting like intensely, but the time I did have. Yeah. Was spent in the felt store. I know. Were you playing somebody who had to felt? No, I was playing a peasant. Right. This is this new movie, The Uprising. Yes, called The Uprising. We want to talk about it. And I want to talk about the fact that you are, look at you. You really do like touch is a very important sense. Look at you touching. I would never lie to you about something so vital. Hold on. Sorry, but I just want to indulge your touch fantasy here, which is look at this. What do you got? Another cheeseburger. This felt was too hard for me. Yeah. Sorry. That wasn't good. Ooh. Give that a squeeze. Oh, that's lovely. That's what she said. That's really lovely. I'm really glad it doesn't squeeze. Squeak. I'm glad it doesn't squeak because I'm an adult. You know what I mean? Yeah, you're a mature lady. I'm a mature adult. I don't need a dog toy. I don't need to get excited by sounds in the way that a dog might. No. There's actually no worse feeling than when you bring home a toy for a child or a dog and you realize that it squeaks. You're like, oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. Why didn't I check that? Yeah. What's cool about this. Yeah. Yeah. Let me smell it while you talk about it. I've never smelled it. It's not bad. You know, sometimes these smell like they come. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. You all know. You all know. You all know what we're about to say. You guys know how your fake cheeseburgers sometimes smell in your office. You know. We're starting again. That's all the time we have. But you're talking about the uprising. I want to talk to you about this because I'm. I want to talk about everything. Okay. I've been thinking about this for a long time. I'm thinking about my theme for you. Theme. Yeah. About what to talk to you about today. Because I feel like we could talk forever. Yes. And I love talking to you. Me too. And. Same. I love this, by the way. What you're doing here is so beautiful. Thank you. And I'm like, it's about time. There's another podcast. Yeah. I know there wasn't enough. Weirdly. Weirdly. People hadn't. They were like, we have room for one more. I just said one more. And I was like. No, but like, if anyone should in this world have this room. Thank you for that. It is polar. It is polar. It is really fun. Yeah, man. Really fun. Yeah. And I've been paying attention to, as I've been thinking about and prepping for today, about your work and your life and you. And I'm fascinated by your love of hard work. You just love to work hard. Yeah, I do. You love it. You do too. Yes, but not as much as I used to. Not as much. Not anymore. That's why I have a podcast, baby. Just realizing. Sitting down with a. But your work ethic. Your work ethic is really something. It's very admirable. I know you care. Like, your love language feels like it's like acts of service. Like, you do things for people, right? I got you. Very funny. Yes, you're on. You're dead on. Like, that is how you show your passion for stuff, your love for people, and how you show up in your work. And you're always working so hard. And in everything you're doing, you're training, you're starving, you're learning how to sing. You're learning how to sing this new movie. You're learning how to sing. You're learning how to do this. You just outed every single man in your life that you know, including your young nephews and sons. I don't know, like every single male. Propecia is incredible. And thank you for saying that. You have naturally very thick hair. You always have. You have, congrats, incredible. And I bet you grew it like that. And you bet you don't even comb it in the morning and it looks incredible. I lied about Propecia, it's just all natural. I'm just trying to be relatable to other guys, Albert. Your hair looks great. But anyway, sorry, you tucked mine in here. I'm going to say something controversial. Sometimes, like sometimes people are great. Do you know what I mean? Like sometimes people are really great. And I know that's a hot take. That is controversial, Andrew. But that's so you. I mean, there's a real humanity to the stuff you do. There's also, you're just a delightful person to be around. You're a real tenderoni. I have a tenderoni. I will co-sign that. You and me both. Yes. And people are great. So say more. Some people, some human beings can be really wonderful and add beautiful things to the earth and to the world. And I guess I'm curious as well about what is it that makes us feel compelled to do that? My mother was one of those people in every single moment of her life. I have this image of her now. I know that she's passed. And it came very like a flash in a dream or like an awakening. I don't know what it was, but I had this image of her being reunited with her tribe after she passed. Beautiful. And it made sense to me why she could be so hard on herself in Carnet when she was alive. I was like, oh, you knew you were meant to be in a thousand different places at once, giving goodness to people. And you knew in some unconscious way that you were being restricted by this vessel of a body, by the vessel of restriction of time and space. So when she passed, I could, I just, I don't know. Like, I don't even have had this experience with someone who's passed, but it's like in the first month or two, I felt more connected to her than I ever felt connected to her when she was in Carnet, when she was alive, alive. Let's put it in quotation marks. I do believe that she's here right now and she's everywhere all at once. I do believe that. And I have a knowing of that. So there was something about seeing, maybe seeing my mother in a very specific kind of hard work that was so naturally occurring for her. And I was always someone in the same way that you just did with me. I was always someone with her. I was like, just take a trip. Yeah. Just relax. You're enough. You're the most. You're the most beautiful angel on earth. You can give yourself what you give to others and it doesn't make you selfish. It doesn't make you any which way. But after she passed, I had this real understanding of like, oh no, that was just inherently who she was. I don't know whether it was nurture or not. I have no idea, but it was just the activating, the animating spirit of her, of her essential nature, of her essential being. And. And I, I guess you could call that hard work or you could, or you could, I don't know. There's, there's something other worldly about it. As I say, after she passed, I was like, oh, she's back. She's actually back. Yeah. She's back where she's meant to be running around with her like good angel brigade, like giving people who need a miracle, a miracle, like times a million. I could, I could just feel it. And I was just one of the people that she was hanging out with. Beautiful. I mean, the idea that her spirit and one spirit can be kind of like released. Once they leave their, their body, just said the idea that somebody is bigger than their body. Yes. And that's so interesting that you talk about your mom when I ask you that question, because there is something in your work that feels really, not only curious, but very unbridled. Like you like to kind of go, go places as I'm trying to like psychoanalyze. And again, I am no therapist, but I do feel like I am. And that's what this podcast is about. Again, she says again. And I will give you a prescription at the end of this. No, but I think it's also very interesting that you talk, you, even though you're, you're British in many ways, you were born in the U S and you talk like, I find you toggle back and forth between those things culturally, very easy. And I had a question for you, which is what do you think is the most American thing about you? My love of hamburgers. Like I love hamburgers. You have very youthful energy as a person. You're a little brother. And your older brother is a doctor. He's a doctor, a heart and lung doctor in London. Yeah. Yeah. The, the, the good, the good son. He's the one that made good. Yeah. He made good. Did he always, was he always? Yeah. He was head boy at school. He was captain of the swimming team. He was a fucking son of a bitch. Yeah. He was a son of a bitch. How many years older than you? Three years older. Yeah. I was fucked. I was fucked from day one. And he gave me meningitis day two of my life. Oh, he gave you? He brings home meningitis. Well, and then he became a doctor to heal you from it. You really should prescribe at the end of this. And, and yeah, I, I think like being raised in a competitive household is definitely a part, in, in, in like the nuts and bolts of like the therapy, it would be like, yeah, we don't feel enough. The Garfield men. There is a kind of. But competition is sometimes gets a bad rap. I love competition. I love games. I love. God, I love it too. I fucking. What, what kind of game player are you? Like, do you get too intense? Do you? Yeah, me too. I think you would have to ask my friends this, but I would say I do. I, I, I have, I, I can upset people. Yeah, I have as well. I work on it because obviously like everyone wants to have a good time, but when people say things like, I know when people say things like, who really cares? I'm like, what are we doing? What do you mean? Like we're playing a game. Like we have to try to win as best we can. Otherwise you're ruining the game. Yeah. Anyone who like says, yeah, I'll play. And then it's like, yeah, like this is so stupid. It's like, don't fucking play. Don't fucking play. Yeah. Don't show up. And also I'm treating you. I'm being rough on you because I believe in you. And I love you. Yeah, for sure. I mean, expect the best from you. Yeah. And I want, I want you to grow. I want you to grow at, at celebrity or whatever we're playing. I want you to grow. Okay. Do you like playing mafia? Yeah. Well, I play with werewolf is the version I play. Yeah. I'm not, I'm, I'm bad at being the werewolf. Dude, me too. I hate, and when I get it, I'm like, oh fuck, I'm not. I know, I hate it. I hate it. I hate, I hate the like lying. I hate the. The deception, I know. I know. I don't love it. And I bet I love accusing. Yes, of course. You're John Proctoring. Yeah. And also defending oneself. Of course. Being like, how dare you think that I'm the werewolf. Like, it was my name. You could not take my name. And everyone's just like drinking their beers and just like wanting to go to the bathroom. Like, thou shalt not. Okay. So let's get into, I do, I do want to ask you a couple of questions about your work. Okay. I have to. Okay. Your first film, you're with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. Yeah. How old are you then? I'm 23, I want to say. So you're coming onto that set, like we all, you know, you have the, everyone has the jitters of like any first day on any job. Like, I'm just going to be cool. I'm just like, don't talk too much. Like, that's what I would say. You know, to myself like, just listen more than you talk and just, they'll get to know you. You know, whatever you're saying to yourself. What, as you're driving to set or whatever, what are you saying to yourself when you're approaching that set? That's a really intimidating set. That's so intimidating. Oh my God. What was it like to work with Robert Redford? I don't know what I was telling myself. I, I, so first of all, Bob Redford, God rest his beautiful soul of service. That man had a soul for service. Yeah. He was like, I'm going to be a part of this. I'm going to be a part of this. he would shoot him his own coverage first he would shoot himself and then he would look at me after his first take and he'd be like what do you think because he was directing as well so all my scenes were with him and he was like what do you think I was like it's great really good it's really good Robert Redford and he's like okay I'll do it again I'll do it again and then but yeah tell me if you think if you see anything that you think and I'm like oh my god that's a really interesting move right because he's trying to yeah just make me feel like it was my set and make me feel like I was an equal and like it was my first movie yeah that's very nice oh he was so nice he was so beautiful and we and it was like a theater play and I'd done only theater at that point it was a lot of dialogue and it was like a well you are a theater you're a theater boy that is your first love that is my first like love out it was like that was like my first exit of the Truman show you know what I mean like like opening that door in the sky and then it was like yeah there's a whole world out there that I had no idea existed when you were working on that film were you still working at Starbucks no no you had quit Starbucks no because there is always this weird thing sometimes when you're ready to fully let go of it I wasn't like you know I'm not gonna say that that's that era is over right I had a little bit of a shock straight out of drama school like I did two plays in a row and then I I was like I'm set and I did like a Doritos commercial in Spain yeah and I'm like you're like that's that I guess wrap it up fellas like stand up wrap it up like that's my like that's gonna that's my kind of like the rest of my life is gonna be the occasional Doritos like crisp commercial and and great theater work yeah I'm good yeah um and then I didn't work for a year and then I started having to wait tables again and be a bartender and I broke up with my girlfriend at the time so it was like a really great year of you know your ever safe yeah like this destabilized kind of place I still have it I'm sure that you do too even at the top of this swanky building or not you're like no I'm pretty much set no you know it's funny it's funny you say that I know what you mean like I still just feel like you have to have a plan always just if everything goes away yeah um and what's yours well I mean it's funny I I still have dreams sometimes about going back being a waitress because I liked I liked waiting tables a lot yeah um because working in the service industry in general I liked a lot because there was just certain things that felt like you just completed your night like your night had a system and you completed it you interacted with people enough that you performed a little bit you were with people who worked also worked very hard but the idea of like doing a good job still means a lot to me I know it means a lot to you it's I get a from work yeah this episode is brought to you by Purdue Global you know a great way to give your younger self a hug by giving that person a chance to come back stronger no matter what stage of your life and career you're in it's never too late to become who you want to be that's why Purdue Global was built for working adults so you can earn a degree you can be proud of this is a great moment to move forward get started at purdueglobal.edu slash good hang this episode is brought to you by CarMax thinking of selling your car but still a little unsure if or how start by getting an online offer from CarMax it's a real offer worth real money but there's no pressure to take it CarMax gives you up to seven days to compare offers and think it over and when you're ready to sell they'll pick the car up directly from your home get a real offer today at CarMax.com at home pickup not available in all locations distance restrictions and fees may apply this episode is brought to you by boar's head there's turkey 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for you and what doesn't and fortunately for all of us there is sephora their beauty advisors really get beauty from personalized recommendation to what's hot on social they're experts so we don't have to be and when you want the best in beauty you go to sephora for the good stuff you can't find anywhere else like kayali fragrances endless shades of house labs foundation and the lineage overnight lip masks that everyone is obsessed with get beauty from people who get beauty only at sephora do you consider yourself a method actor so the method and if so who am i speaking to but it's like but it but because it is you do you do go pretty deep and when you're playing coach you do you got that trickster look in your eye you're looking for the clickbait headline you're like is he gonna give me the juice you lost all this weight you studied for a year you go for it you go for it are you method are you method answer the question are you method it's a yes or no question i mean are you don't try and get cute no but i want to know um in a way yes but i think yeah but i think i think the term has been massively mischaracterized misunderstood and co-opted by people that don't know a method is basically having a method and and like there's the the stanislavski method the strasbourg method is about trying to live truthfully under imagined circumstances and and and having it feel personal having it feel um connected to something that's interior that is not just um a kind of more performative exterior um abstraction uh so so i feel like yes but but i don't um i think there's a way of doing it that's generous i think there's a way of accessing that work and that style of working that doesn't fuck with the rest of the cast that doesn't fuck with the rest of the crew that you don't have to lose a bunch of weight that's playful well yeah yeah that's playful totally and and generous like i feel and and i and i my personal taste and my personal sydney lumet the great one of my favorite filmmakers of all time who who who seemed to vanish as a director in his movies in the sense that like he let his movies be the movies rather than letting people know that he directed them yes you know what i mean like every movie is such a different flavor such a different feel alan parker is like that too for me exactly i was thinking about and and so very one of my favorite films of all time bugsy malone parker and then he did the movie angel heart yeah holy fuck yeah and and so so so he says in his great little book making movies i don't know if you've read he said he tells a story about paul newman i think or yeah he tells a story about paul newman in what was the movie they made together it'll come back but he's like paul newman came with with he did this scene and um lumet was like okay i think we're gonna reshoot this tomorrow because i think you need to you need to find out what this scene's about inside yourself and he comes about the next and and and there was something very personal that he was referring to he's like i think you know what this moment is and i think you're resisting going there and um paul newman came back and he did the scene and it was like one of the great you know scenes of any city movie and he describes it as personal revelation so the message is like the actor's job is personal revelation while the cameras are rolling the actors that i respond to the storytelling that i respond to feels like personal revelation yeah and and through through the lens of a character i think about like and i've talked about this openly about tick tick boom which is a film i'm very proud of and i really love like and i can feel thanks and i and i just but i i can talk about it because it feels very personal and also not personal at all in a way it does feel like that kind of liminal place of of letting a another spirit move through intermingling with my own spirit but also my mother's spirit is so much in that film um but but it was very very personal because i just lost my mom and we were making this movie and it's about the shortness of life it's about the shortness the sacredness of life it's about being of service it's about living out your own calling your own destiny in a way and what we're talking about waiting tables and that year off like like how how do you how do you hang on by hook or by crook to the note that you hear in your head that you have to follow like Like how do you play your note? How do you not fall asleep to your note even though you're a salmon swimming upstream of a world telling you to to to drop it and and take the nine to five or whatever it is you mentioned directors you've worked with really interesting directors you always do i i have a question that i i want to ask fincher is one of my favorite directors he's i love his films rashida was in social network i know and i always and i was like what was it like working with david fincher like and she's he's so incredible to work with but i really want to know genuinely and not i'm not like digging for some i want to know what does the many many takes do how does it help you as an actor how does it does it how is it not frustrating or like can be yeah is it like i i love it you love it i can love it because i love acting and i love hard work and i love sports you and i love right and i love not going home right with anything left to give and yeah there's nothing worse as you know than going home going i could have done that better yeah it sucks to feel it to feel like you're in bed you're just like ruminating of like oh yeah i i was i my father put me through drama school he worked so hard and now i've just done like a half job at like this thing this thing that i'm so lucky to do and so yeah i i love it and also i find it pleasure i just find the work really deeply pleasurable but i love positive reinforcement i do i i genuinely do it works on me like i don't i don't the challenger in me i what i'm i'm relating to is the competitiveness of like tapping into like fuck yeah i'll do this fucking 30 times i don't give a shit i can tap into that but i need sometimes like i don't like um and i'm sure david isn't like this but but i i don't like i i don't do well when i like like when someone's nagging me like i just kind of quit to use the phrase from the pickup artist are you talking about mystery sorry mystery sorry just a quick sidebar shout out to mystery we miss you guys mystery it didn't work between us but that doesn't mean that you can't find love um obsessed with the pickup she didn't love the nagging though i it does not work on me like when someone comes up and like you know like hey you're ugly whatever i'm like okay like just like why are you so ugly at this bar whatever whatever that i it does i'm not even good at pretending to do it i just i'm like huh it does not work on me it does not work on me but like evil an exercise class right if someone's like you're gonna work super hard in here and like you know and i'm just like no i'm not not anymore i'm not not anymore you could have had me you could have had all this someone's like you got here no matter what it's 7 a.m like that's right i'm like fuck yeah i did i'm just telling for me for me so in any of those uh repetitive takes whether it's with david or another director do you like do you trust when you get positive feedback with david i do okay i did and he he would give it yep okay but but what's so cool about david is that he's that he's that dad you know he's that dad that like knows that you need that uh-huh in any and he'll and he'll give it to you and he'll give it to you and he'll give it to you in abundance when you've like when you've really shown how much you care it's it's that kind of coach right i love a sports coach like that like like like paul greengrass on on the film that the uprising is like that he's like incredible team captain he's just like he's just like a if we were like a football team english football team um and he was our he was our man and and and and and he he was so full of beautiful positive reinforcement fit fit fit david would be fincher would be less quick with it for sure um but when you got it it was like that you would be stoic about you would receive it and you would want to cry but you would be like thanks yeah it's cool it was like that level of like it meant so much and the big scene with like the smashing of the laptop thing in that social network for anyone who doesn't know what we're talking about yeah social network and um we did a lot of takes of it and i there was like a few rounds of takes where i was like oh my god i'm so sorry i'm so sorry i'm so sorry i'm so sorry i'm so like he's gonna call he's gonna he's gonna call it soon he's gonna call it okay one more time and i'm like okay oh wow yeah and then on the third round of 10 or 15 takes i didn't hear anything i was just like on the floor with like i was exhausted and like just like snotty and just like crying and i'm just like waiting for like and at that point you're broken in a way that's like so beautiful it's so beautiful it's the best it's the best fucking feeling in the world i mean i guess it's the best fucking feeling in the world okay and i just feel like a shadow approaching like like covering like like the like the light that was on me just gets like kind of covered by a figure and i'd look at his shoes and i look up and he looks down at me he just puts his hand down and he takes my hand and he shakes my hand and he lifts me up he's like okay moving on and i'm like so withholding so hot i i don't know you have you you have i'm sorry but you haven't sold me you haven't sold me let me tell you a different story because i would have liked him at take 10 to say you're doing a great job hey babe hey babe you're doing hey babe you're doing so great i i would have like this is what i would have liked you're doing great but you know me i have to do 25 more that's what i would have i feel you let me say one more thing about david because i feel like i need to protect david and as a as a father on set now yeah you can yeah you can feel that he's proud of you yeah yeah because of what you're giving such a talented director you can feel it it's not he's not withholding it's like it's like it's not like you're doing a bad job and it's not like i'm not going to give you the banana it's like it's like you can feel when he's he's like he's like we're gonna keep going do it we'll do another one think about this think about that he's he's a tender tender guy he really really is getting back to the very beginning of what we're talking about is this idea that caring about something is like is this like very important and i'll i'll self-reveal because you're you're really doing it you're really you're really my therapist today which i don't appreciate i'm sorry which i don't appreciate i'm honestly sorry okay um you're and you're breaking me down um no but um but when i feel like i if i've checked out or i like feel like i am acting like i don't care about something it really means that i've divested and yeah it's a bummer because it means that i've lost some kind of relationship sometimes you have to do it to protect yourself sometimes you do it because you don't have anything left to give sometimes you do it because you don't feel like the person that you're with i don't know earned or can hold it deserves or can hold it yes totally totally all that totally but you feel like you've lost something like it's heartbreaking it is it's heartbreaking you are very very as a person as a as invest and it's and it's like it must be um exhausting it must be exhausting that's why i think you need to take a break from some of these movies i'm gonna take a break no i am gonna take a break they're too hard i was too hard it's too hard being an actor being an actor so did you see cold cold nose pretending to be things pretending to be in a in a peasant's revolt it's hard it's hard pretending to be a german magician i go home at night i'm like owie to pretend it was cold it was actually hot so and then and then and then um but wait i do want to i want to okay seriously whatever whatever you want to ask well you know what i i love i love your uh your hold on this is an snl skin this is i'm trying to be i'm trying it was a you know it was a kirsten wig that was like they would start a sentence and then like never finish the sentence yes what was that sketch they played uh garth and cat so good i love that sorry fred played a character called nicholas fane have you ever let me ask you this have you has it ever been a okay say you're in it's summertime it's summer oregon but there's a dog do you have a dog wait dogs or cats anyway i do it badly and i've already told you that or i i said on that podcast the when he would do it the cue cards would be blank you hosted snl right i did it once yeah and did you have a good time doing it i loved it yeah i absolutely loved it and of course i was so scared but again like service like i think the best episodes are when the host totally supports the cast and that's not always uh like an intuitive thing which i understand but like nobody really pulls anybody aside to say like yeah i know this is the best thing to say yes to the stuff that like the cast likes and that you know like if you just like become an ensemble member you'll have the best time but it's not always um set up like that but did you host it for spider-man where it was during spider-man i think it was the second spider-man yeah i had tom holland in here sweet oh my god sweetie pie what a sweetie pie such a doll such a talented actor so talented and i i just have to say i love how all of you guys like show up for each other you talk to each other you talk to each other you talk to each other you talk about each other you talk about each other you talk about each other you talk about each other you talk about each other you talk about each other you talk about your experience about your experience about your experience so brotherhood now which is really really so brotherhood now which is really really so brotherhood now which is really really great like i think like doing doing the one where where we're all together really cemented some kind of weird brotherhood that was just beautiful. And I had known Toby a little bit before, but he was always my, you know, my North Star with that character. And I loved what Tom's done. And I think that was very healing for all of us to do that together and to feel less alone in that very, very weird singular experience, like to be a part of this character's legacy that is maybe, I don't know, arguably one of, if not the most popular fictional character in the history of, like, modern fiction. Really, really true. I don't know another character that is that beloved around the world. And now, you know, Mother of Boys, I didn't really. How old are your boys? They're now 16 and almost 18. And the Propecia is helping? Yeah, it's helping a lot. Yeah, I insisted they get on it. Really? Like a lot of hair now? Mommy loves a good head of hair. You know, Mother will be disappointed. That's what I say. I wake them up and I say, Has your hair grown? Mother's disappointed. Have you seen Andrew's hair? I say, Don't let Mother down. That's what I say every day when I close the door. But they. But they. The way in which, when that character was introduced into their lives, the way they. embodied him, like, their bodies want to. It's really wild. It's so Joseph Gamble primitive stuff. That's so interestingly put. That's really interesting. They want to get in that crouch. Yes. And they want to leap. And it's so fun with those kinds of films where you watch people come out of the film and they're just moving like dancers to. It's so cool. And I just want to talk about Sally Field. Oh, my God. Yeah, let's do that. Isn't she. Wow. She's so good at acting. She's one of the best. She really is. She's maybe one of the best. You've worked with some amazing women. Fucking hell. And congratulations. You seem to really love women, and everybody can tell. Thank God. Yeah, women love you, and you can tell. And Sally is. I don't know, I just. What was it like to work with her? What is she like to be around? She's one of the great people. Alive, or dead for that matter. But she's so weirdly still humble. It's a weird thing. I would say she has legend status. She's like icon legend status as a performer, as an actor, as a person. And somehow she's retained a kind of homespun, grounded. Again, in the same way that. In the same way that Redford made me relax. Sally is someone that you just feel like you're with the best friend/aunt you could ever wish for. I was thinking about this the other day, actually. I think one of the great highlights and privileges of my life was to be able to give her a Lifetime Achievement Award at the SAG Awards a few years ago. Yeah, that was so great. I felt so lucky. I almost said no, because I just didn't think that I could handle it, because it was such an honor, because she is so beloved, and rightly so. And she's so. Beautifully extraordinary and ordinary. She honors her ordinariness in such an inspiring. I really can't believe I can even talk about her in this fashion. It's so funny you say that. She's so, so, so talented. And she's probably, her and Meryl, probably the two most influential actresses for me growing up. But she never felt above or below. No, no, one up, one down, no, no, no, it was always just like, just her. There's a million people that would have wanted to talk to me today about you. I know about this part of your thing. I'm nervous, I'm like excited and nervous, and you've got someone to come and say something. You have so many friends, you have so many talented friends, and they all love you, and they all want to. It's, you know, it is, it's a really, you should know that it's a really nice thing when you have a guest on, and there's like so many people that would want to. Oh, come on. Speak well behind your back. That's crazy. But we talked today to Lin-Manuel Miranda. Oh. And he talked about the process, you know, of working with you and how, you know, when he said, you know, "Can you sing," you know, and you were like, "When are you going to make this?" And he was like, "In a year," and you were like, "Yes," which is amazing. I love that, and that is, now knowing a little bit more about your competitive spirit, I understand that, which is like, I can do it, coach. Yeah, yeah. Put me in. Yes, so true. Yeah. Um, his question was, he just spoke a little bit about how, what a good swimmer you are and how he didn't know that, and he called you the Michael Phelps of. Acting. Acting. Which, you know, not that big of a deal. A lot of competition there, no. Who would that be? Me and I don't know who else. Do you swim a lot? Do you like to swim? I still swim, yeah, I still swim. You do? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I. I surf now. It's translated. Ah. Yeah, it's like, my gymnastics, I was a gymnast when I was a kid. Mm-hmm. That translated into, like, you know, Spider-Man stuff. Yeah. Um, I took all of the stuff that my dad was trying to, like, discipline me with and I turned it into something, like, a fun version of those things. Yeah. Like, with swimming, it was, like, up at 5am, you know, swimmers, like, they train, it's crazy. I know. So I turned that into surfing. So, like, my paddle is pretty strong and I can, yeah, so I, like, so I surf more than I swim. But I swim, I don't, I don't really swim-swim anymore. I'll do, like, open water swimming and swimming in the sea and, like. Yeah. Swimming in ponds and, like, natural. Places. Yeah. Do you have long arms? I don't think that's any of your business. Fine. Fine. Well, I'm not going to tell you what Lynn said. I know that your least strong sense is your vision, but you could have made an effort to just look at the arms. I'm just, I'm like, do you, I'm like, do you have long arms? Um, okay. Can you clear something up for me? This has been bugging me this whole time. I'm like, let me see. Are your arms long or are they short? Where are they in the spectrum? Come closer to me, I need to smell and see if your arms are long. Okay. But he said, he said, um, first of all, he was like, tell, ask Andrew what. He said. The only way is I can Columbo with this. Oh my God. The only way I can figure out. Oh, that's a good Peter Falk! Peter Falk, me and him have the same birthday. Not too bad. Let me smell it. Just one more thing. No, one more thing. Let me smell your arms. Just because the motor has particularly long swimmer's arms. I don't know. I just, not wearing my glasses. But my nose is strong. So I'd like to just. Ah, nevermind. I'm out. Ah, one more thing. One more thing? Can I smell your arms? This one even smells like chlorine. Have you been in the pool? Oh shit. God, Peter Falk. Fucking Peter Falk. You guys remember Peter Falk, right? Anyone under the age of 50? Columbo, God damn it. Love Columbo so much. But so, Lynn's question for you was, what other secret. You know, he had a two-parter. First was like, what other secret thing are you good at that we don't know yet? I know. He's like, tell us now so a director can know. But he basically was basically saying like, you know, does anything feel like too much of a challenge? You do a lot of. You really take on a lot of challenges for the work that you do. You're game. Yeah. That's a cool question. It's a question that I've been asking myself. You know, you know what I'm really scared of? Yeah? I'm going to tell you anyway. Being a dad scares the shit out of me. You're going to be so great. It scares me so much. Don't even worry about it. Seriously. Seriously. Even if you get 50. Mommy's proud of my hair. Is that what you're saying? Mother is proud. Mother is proud. Mother is proud. Look at all that. If you're going to be. The fact, Andrew, that you even say it. Yeah. Well, I mean, I think that would be the biggest, most important thing I ever probably do. Yeah. And I know that to be true. It makes me want to cry thinking about it. Cry, cry, cry, cry, cry. I love when boys cry out here. Cry, cry, cry. Talk about being a dad. It's like, it's like. Yes. Fuck, man. Yes. You'd be so good. Because I know, I know what it's like to be on the other end of it, you know? Yes. I know. I've been a child. I know. It's really. I've been a son. Yes. We have all been born from dads and sometimes not. So crazy. Right? Right. I don't know. Well. Don't cancel us. Don't. I'm sorry. We all. We're all born however we want. Fuck. Wait, but let's get back to you crying. But you're going to be such a good dad. You're going to nail it. I want to do it. Yeah. I do want to do it. Yeah. And I kind of. You can sometimes feel a bit selfish with I want to be a dad. Well, I don't know. I don't know. So I'm. In terms of a challenge, I can't imagine a greater challenge than taking that kind of responsibility. And then there was another question about stuff I'm good at. A sad. I'll respond in a sad way. Always. And it relates back to the body failing. Oh, my God. What are you going to say? Can we grab some felt real quick? Just grab something. Get that felt back in my hand. Let's get that touch going, yeah. Sweet felt. Let's do a little, yeah. I was playing basketball recently. Mm-hmm. I love basketball. And I thought, I think I'm pretty good at basketball. I have a theory about this. I think the worst injuries happen with men in their 40s when they play basketball. It's a theory that's backed up with a lot of evidence. Go ahead. What did you do? Columbo's sister. Columbo's sister. She comes and she's like, Columbo, let's get out of here. And he goes, wait a minute. She's like, we said you were leaving like 10 minutes ago. Columbo's sister is like, get in the car. Jesus. You had your keys in your hand for 10 minutes. I've been waiting in the car. Columbo's like, just a second. Okay, sorry, sorry. Okay, basketball. Let's get back on track. I was playing basketball with some friends. I was playing with Woody Harrelson. Oh, great. He's a good basketball player. I know that. One man, Columbo. One Man Jump is one of my all-time favorite movies. Why am I holding these felts like they're cards in a poker game? I'm like, do you have, do you have, yeah, we're playing Uno. Do you have orange cheese? Great. Okay, sorry. Come on, Andrew, focus. Basketball. If anyone's not watching this and just listening to it on the podcast, fuck it, I'm so sorry. We're holding. I'm sorry for most of what's been happening. This whole time, I'm so sorry. Oh, Jesus Christ. I was playing with Woody, who I love and I've been a fan of forever. And One Man Can Jump is just one of those all-time great movies. And he's just one of my all-time favorite performances of all time. All time, all time, all time. And I was so excited to play with him. And then as soon as we got on the court, I just froze. I was just like. You got in your head. Just like, I was just like the seven-year-old at the party that just wants to go home. Oh, God, yes. Oh, God, yes. I was so scared. It was like fight or flight or freeze. I froze. I fully froze and folded. And I played really badly. I just want to apologize to everyone in that game. And that's tough for a competitive person like you. Yeah. I was just like, I love Woody so much. And I've been wanting to play with him for so long. And it was finally our time. And he still plays great. And he's like, you know. I don't think he should. Woody, if you're listening, you're going to blow out your knee. He's taking really good care of himself. But he's fiercely competitive. Yeah, yeah. And I love it. I absolutely love it. Anyway, so a thing that I thought was a hidden talent, Lynn, turns out. It's gone. It was never maybe there. So there we have it. You made a movie that took place in 1381. Yeah. And it is about a peasant uprising. It looks badass. It's cool. I saw the trailer for it. And the feeling of like, whoa, this is a very political, very interesting movie to make. Right now. And what is it about? Yeah, it's about true events in that period of British history. It's called The Peasant's Revolt. And it was a big uprising among the ordinary folk of the British Isles that came together in an organized way. And it's told, the story is told in a way that is very unique. And it's because it's this, it's one of my favorite directors of all time, Paul Greengrass. Who people would have seen a lot of his amazing films like Captain Phillips or The Bourne series, movies with Matt Damon or United 93 or Bloody Sunday, The News of the World with Tom Hanks. Some of my favorite films of all time. I've wanted to work with Paul forever. And it brings up really interesting questions about revolution, about violence in revolution, whether it's needed, whether it's not, how change can happen without some form of military control. Like who, like, it's really a visceral story. It's so cool. It looks incredible. And it's a ride as well. It's also just like a really entertaining kind of action film. It's like a really cool movie. And it also has my scariest kind of villain, which is a boy king. Oh, yeah, boy king, tyrant boy king. Tyrant boy king? Oh, yeah. Oh, there's nothing scarier. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it was real. Richard, this King Richard was 14 years old. And he had, and at that time, this is what's crazy. At that time, and it wasn't. It wasn't metaphorical. It was literal. The king was the messenger of God's word on the earth. So anything that the king uttered was literally treated like it was sent from heaven above. There was any equivocation of that meant you were a treasonous and traitor to the throne. So anything that this boy decides, this 14-year-old boy who is being governed a lot by these money hoarding, power hoarding, land hoarding oligarchs. Was treated, had to be, there was no question. It was just like, that's the way it is. Water is wet. You know, sky is blue. The king is God on earth. Okay. That's that. So that level of power. Yeah. It's a really interesting thing for right now. I need to finish. I need to finish. You need to go. You have like 45, but 45 other things to do today. No, this is lovely. I love being here. But I want to finish by asking you the question I ask everybody, which is, what are you listening to, watching? What are you numbing out with? I love numbing out, man. Okay. What do you, what do you, what video do you like? What movie? What video? What's your video? What's your video? Sometimes it's just a video of like a bird eating. What's your video right now? A worm. We're back on the first date. Now we're back on the first date. And you're like, what's your favorite video? What's your video? What video, what video do you watch when you want, when you want to turn off your head? Yeah, watch the video. What video do you watch? My favorite video right now is, um, I've been watching a lot of Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy fame because I play Roy Horn in this, uh, in this upcoming Apple TV show and we just finished. Do you know this? I love this for you. Bro, it's really fun. You're playing Roy Horn? Yeah. So I've been watching lots of Roy Horn videos. Is that why your hair is so luscious? Yes. Yes. That's partly, but then we just ended up putting wigs on of the same hair. Yeah. It's like, can I get a wig? Can I get a wig of this on this? Yeah. Great. That makes sense. No, no, no. It does make sense. Oh my God. We're playing them through me and Jude Law. Jude Law's playing Siegfried. And we're playing them through the, through the decades from their twenties through to their sixties. Incredible story. It's amazing. So fun. It was so hard. Manticore. Manticore. Maneater. It means Maneater. Excuse me? The name means Maneater. I did not know that. The tiger that. There was an incident with. We say incident. There was an incident. There was an accident. Because who knows exactly what happened. But Manticore, which means Maneater. I cannot wait for this project. And Roy Hand raised him. Yeah. Wow. And Roy, so I'm obsessed. Yes. And I'm still obsessed. That's a good sign that I've, we were prepping for a year. We shot it for six months and I'm still obsessed with Roy. I still adore him and his spirit. Yes. So I've just been watching lots of footage of him for the last year and a half and I continue to watch it because I just adore him. And have you handled tigers? Have you been near tigers? I have been near tigers, yes, but only in a very legal and safe way, but I did feed a tiger by hand, which was kind of incredible. Tigers are amazing. And I say to them, good day, sir. Yes. I say to tigers, and I, and it is nice to meet you, and I shall take my leave because tigers scare the fuck out of me. Yeah. They're so. They lived with them. I know. He hit a thing in the morning. He hit a button as he woke up and it sent a bell into the garden, letting the tiger that he wanted know it was time to come and snuggle. The tiger came into the house, came up to the bed, jumped on bed, and they snuggled to wake Roy up. He was. Incredible. Something else. Yeah, yeah. He was something else. Andrew Garfield. Amy Poehler. We have talked so much. This was so fun. A lot of yapping. We yapped. We yapped. We yapped. But I knew we would. Me too. It's been a while. I know. It's so fun to be with you. I love talking to you. I feel like we're from the same planet in some regard. I feel like we're from some kind of same universe, which I love just being with you and I've always have. I remember when I first met you, it was with Jane Aronson, Dr. Jane Aronson at the Worldwide Orphans Foundation, and I was really nervous to meet you because I'm just a huge fan of you. And I just think you're just so wonderful. I hadn't known many famous people at that point. And you were just like so warm and engulfing and encouraging and caring in such a genuine way that made me feel a lot of hope for being a person in this world. And you're a beautiful, beautiful person. I really adore you. Andrew, thank you so much. You smell so good. No, it's my best sense, and I'm here to say, Andrew Smilow. great. Just like we thought. Andrew Garfield, that was so fun. Oh, you're just a real silly Billy. I had such a good time with you. Thank you so much for doing this. And, and for this polar plunge, you know, we talked about some great people that Andrew work with, uh, including Sally Field. And I just wanted to remind everybody, if you're looking for a movie, a beautiful movie that's filled with heart and will make you cry. And it's all about like the spirit of, of, of a woman saving her farm. Check out a movie called Places in the Heart with Sally Field and Danny Glover and a young John Malkovich and Ed Harris and Amy Madigan. And it's so, so good. Um, not enough people talk about this movie and it's one of my favorites. Places in the Heart, Sally Field. I love you, Andrew Garfield. We love you. And thanks everybody for listening. See you soon. All I ever wanted was a really good hey.