Much to my chagrin, Andrew Garfield didn’t get an Oscar nomination for his legendary turn as Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network back in 2011. However, his performance in the film about Facebook is one of the elements that is still taking the internet by storm. For example, his laptop smashing scene went super viral on TikTok earlier this year, and now the actor is sharing his surprisingly deep thoughts on those videos.
At the moment, Garfield is promoting his romance on the 2024 movie schedule, We Live In Time. However, along with chatting about that and topics like taking a break from acting, he’s also opening up about his older films, like The Social Network. During an interview with THR he was asked about the viral TikToks of people lip-syncing to his “I’m sorry, my Prada’s at the cleaners…” speech, and his response was amazing as he said:
[Laughs] It’s passion. It’s justice. I guess people on TikTok like justice, and they like outraged, righteous indignation and someone searching for justice — where Eduardo Saverin is in that moment. And I think they probably subliminally like seeing technology being smashed too.
He makes a fabulous point. The scene in The Social Network, which serves as the film’s climax as Eduardo finds out that his shares in Facebook have been diluted, is loaded with emotion and rage. Plus, when you mix this amazing performance from Garfield with the masterful direction of David Fincher and a quick-witted script from Aaron Sorkin, you get a masterpiece. It’s no wonder thousands of people created TikToks that were socred with the actor screaming the following:
I’m sorry my Prada’s at the cleaners, along with my hoodie and my fuck you flip flops, you pretentious douchebag.
I know I’ve certainly been entertained by TikToks like the one below (which has well over 1 million views, by the way). I also think Garfield is right, “subliminally” and consciously it is great to see someone searching for justice and smashing technology.
@hettiespaghetti ♬ original sound - I’m spiderman i swear
While the scene these folks are recreating is ultimately about diluted shares (of all things), deep down it’s also about betrayal, loss of friendship and sticking it to the man. So, I get where Garfield is coming from.
On top of that, this scene and movie are simply a masterclass in filmmaking. The Social Network cast is top tier as it's led by Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg, who played Mark Zuckerberg. It’s also easily one of David Fincher’s best films as he turned a story about the origins of this popular social media into an intense thriller.
Even though the film is almost 15 years old, it’s still ever-present in pop culture. People like Dylan O’Brien have made viral videos recreating it, while many others took to using the dialogue for their TikToks a few years later.
Overall, while Andrew Garfield’s filmography is loaded with highlights – like Tick, Tick…Boom!, Hacksaw Ridge and more – The Social Network is one of the crown jewels in his career. And it’s partially because it resonated with so many people likely for the deep reasons he stated above.
To go back and rewatch this movie that inspired thousands of TikToks with millions of views that Andrew Garfield responded to in a very eloquent way, you can stream The Social Network with a Max subscription. Then, make sure to catch the actor’s latest project We Live In Time – which has also caused quite the viral conversation on social media – when it hits theaters on October 11.
