Ever since his early roles in The Social Network and the Marc Webb Spider-Man movies, Andrew Garfield has become quite the A-lister, with his newest 2024 movie release We Live In Time in theaters now. At the same time, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have fan moments when he comes face-to-face with other celebrities. The British actor shares stories about his awkward interactions with Will Ferrell and Tom Hanks, which I can honestly relate to in some ways.
We’re used to seeing celebrities on the small and big screens. When you have the chance to interact with a huge star in person, you can’t expect everyone to play it cool. During his interview with Crooked Media, Andrew Garfield admits his awkward fan persona came through when he met Will Ferrell for the first time:
I met Will Ferrell recently. I was pretty relaxed until the last minute when I was leaving, and I kind of whispered in his ear like a murderer, [uses awkward tone of voice] ‘I just want to let you know you mean so much to me. There are very, very few people who have shaped my soul and shaped my view of the world, and you’re one of those people. I never wanna see you again. Bye!’ [reverts back to speaking voice] And I ran out of the room.
I’ve gotta say that I can absolutely relate to having a “kick me” moment when meeting someone important. I could imagine something clicking inside of him knowing he was face-to-face with the man who starred in the most beloved SNL sketches and dominated the best ‘00s movies. In my case, I’d probably be speechless. At least the 2022 Academy Award nominee said something to Will Ferrell. And I’d like to believe the Elf actor took what Garfield said with humor and goodness.
Back in 2016, Andrew Garfield attended the 28th Annual Palm Springs Film Festival where he got the Spotlight Award for starring in Mel Gibson’s harrowing yet heroic movie Hacksaw Ridge. Tom Hanks also got a big honor of his own that night when he won the Icon Award.
After Garfield went off-script in his acceptance award speech to glorify the Saving Private Ryan actor, he told Crooked Media about yet another awkward celebrity moment that took place at the film festival’s afterparty:
I was at the Palm Springs Awards Festival. I got there, and I didn’t realize Tom Hanks was getting a lifetime achievement award. And all the speech I’d pre-written was thrown out the window so I could just honor all of Tom Hanks most little-known oeuvre, including like Joe Versus the Volcano. And then there was a party afterwards, and I spent the entirety of it literally running away from him. Because he was, you know, he was, of course, wanted to be like, ‘Oh, thanks, kid.’ … They’re never gonna be anything but these larger-than-life kind of icons.
I could understand being scared to meet the A-list celebrity who kept being mentioned in a speech that wasn’t supposed to be about him. We all have, to quote Mean Girls, "word vomit" moments where everything spills out unexpectedly due to the shock of the moment. However, I feel like Andrew Garfield choosing to speak about someone else in his acceptance speech was really honorable.
He earned a Spotlight award for his stellar performance in Hacksaw Ridge, yet the Tick, Tick…Boom! actor improvised his speech and brought to spotlight onto Tom Hanks and his best movies instead. With the You Got Mail actor having the reputation of being a nice guy, I can imagine him feeling grateful that a fellow actor took the time to honor him in his acceptance speech when he could have just spoken about his own career.
Based on the awkward interactions Andrew Garfield has had in the past, he already had one actor in mind he’d be terrified to meet. Here’s a hint- he’s been to the future and back:
There are certain people that mean probably an unhealthy amount to each of us. I never ever want to spend time with Michael J. Fox, because I wouldn’t want to bother him with all the Teen Wolf quotes that I would have to bring up.
Being a cinephile myself, I’d probably do the same thing or give some awkward movie puns that I'd wish to rewind and start over on. But hey, we can’t help that films with the best stars are so quotable! But given what a celebrated actor Michael J. Fox is, maybe he’d find it a compliment to remember quotes from his ‘80s film hits. You can watch Andrew Garfield's interview in full below:
@crookedmedia ♬ original sound - Crookedmedia
Andrew Garfield’s awkward celebrity interactions show that no matter how many big movies he’s been in, the Emmy-nominee is still a fan at heart capable of having embarrassing human moments as someone like myself would. Imagine if the talented actor got to work with Tom Hanks and Will Ferrell in the future! I’m sure there’d be more hilarious interactions to follow. You can watch Garfield’s newest project We Live In Time in theaters now on limited release.
