Andrew Garfield on Life After Loss: ‘Something Was Being Rearranged Without My Consent’

Andrew Garfield has recently opened up about a challenging chapter in his life that put a pause on his career at a high point. The actor, known for roles in The Social Network and Spider-Man, lost his mother, Lynn Garfield, in 2019 after her battle with pancreatic cancer, a devastating experience that left him in a dark and introspective phase.

Reflecting on this time during an interview with Town & Country Magazine, Garfield explained, “I was just in a bit of a shift, transition, change in my life, processing a lot, feeling a lot, changing my relationship to the world.” The loss of his mother prompted a period of soul-searching and re-evaluation, a feeling he described as something being “rearranged” in his life without his permission.

Despite his struggles, Garfield delivered two major performances in 2021. He starred in Spider-Man: No Way Home, a global blockbuster, and received an Academy Award nomination for Tick, Tick… Boom!, showcasing his resilience and dedication to his craft even through a period of emotional turmoil.

Garfield, 41, shared that this difficult time felt like a midlife crisis, noting, “Maybe I was too young to be having a midlife crisis, but there was something of, having lost my mother, having achieved a certain amount that I wanted to achieve in my work, having a life that I loved.” With so much accomplished, he was left questioning what was next. “It was like a plateau. It was like, ‘What now? And who am I? And what does it all mean? What matters? What doesn’t?’ Like something was being rearranged without my consent.”

Garfield admitted that this period altered his ambition, saying, “A lot of my ambition died to a certain degree – or died in order to be reborn in a different way.” This internal transformation has shaped his approach to both life and work, allowing him to move forward with a renewed perspective.

As he takes on his upcoming role in We Live in Time, Garfield believes his healing process is reflected in the character, hoping that audiences will feel this sense of growth and understanding through his performance.