Do we like Andrew Garfield?
Our score: 7 out of 10. He backs LGBTQ+ people and Palestinians out loud and has no legal or misconduct trail, but he stumbled in 2017 and the record is thinner than I'd like.
Garfield is the actor who has gone from Spider-Man to prestige drama, and he's never been shy about wearing his feelings on his sleeve. He was in the London run of Angels in America in 2017, and that's where he first got into hot water with this audience. At a talkback he called himself a “gay man right now, just without the physical act,” while describing how he prepared for the role.
Critics said the line was glib and oversimplified what LGBTQ+ people live through. He told the BBC it had been misconstrued and was about wanting to “fully immerse myself in a culture that I adore.” He also said his “only longing” was to serve the LGBTQ community. It was a clumsy moment, but it was a walked-back one rather than a pattern.
The harm check is where he shines lately. In March 2026 he told Hits Radio he'd finally watched the Harry Potter films and liked them. He said people shouldn't be “putting money in the pocket of inhumane legislation,” and called the author “she that shall remain nameless.” That's a pointed nod to J.K. Rowling's campaigning on trans issues, which Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have also condemned, per Fox News.
On the wider world, he's been consistent. In October 2024 he used a live podcast recording to say energy should go to something that matters, naming “Palestinians in Gaza right now.” Where you land on that depends on how you read the politics of Gaza, but it was a call about suffering people, not a slur on anyone. Back in 2017 he told The Sunday Times that Trump's election reflected a celebrity culture that “we enabled.”
The latest stoush is fresh. At a Los Angeles screening of The Uprising he said he hoped the film is “galvanizing” and that billionaires who watch it are scared. Fox News gathered critics, including Spencer Pratt, who pointed out he was reportedly paid about US$5 million to play a billionaire in another film. Garfield and director Paul Greengrass didn't respond to Fox. That's a fair gotcha on hypocrisy, though it's a long way from harm.
The good stuff is mostly about being human in public. In 2024 he made a video for Sesame Workshop in which he told Elmo he was thinking about his mum and that missing her is “kind of a gift.” Variety reported it alongside his film We Live in Time. I found no court cases, lawsuits or credible misconduct claims against him, though the record I could verify is thin on charity.