Andrew Garfield discussed playing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming film “Artificial” — and why he’s relieved to let go of heavy characters like the tech founder.
The film, written by Simon Rich, chronicles the five-day corporate saga in November 2023 when OpenAI’s board abruptly fired Altman, setting off an employee revolt and a scramble over control of the company before Altman was reinstated as CEO. Garfield stars as Altman, with Monica Barbaro as former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, Yura Borisov as Ilya Sutskever and Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk.
The project was dropped by Amazon MGM in June despite being nearly complete. The decision came just months after Amazon announced a $50 billion investment and partnership with OpenAI, prompting questions about whether the studio’s deepening ties to the company played a role. Neon ultimately acquired the film for worldwide theatrical distribution after other studios, including Netflix and Focus Features, passed.
Garfield noted in an interview published Tuesday with Esquire U.K. that he was drawn to the role of Altman after originally being in the running to play Mark Zuckerberg in 2010’s “The Social Network.” He instead played Eduardo Saverin.
“Yeah, I think I’ve been fascinated since I missed that opportunity — though I got given the most amazing opportunity [of playing Eduardo] and wouldn’t have it any other way — but I definitely feel I’m closer to understanding the drives, the psychology,” Garfield told the outlet. “With Sam, everything’s a game. It’s a game, and everything gets very, very simple. It’s, ‘I know I have to win this game, because I am the most ‘good’ person, and if I don’t win this game, Elon Musk wins this game.’”
“I don’t know this person, to be clear,” he continued. “I don’t know Sam Altman. I’ve never met him. I was going off of the script and court transcripts and interviews and research, and we were telling a story, but I think anyone who takes on that level of responsibility for a company or a technology that you know is going to do a hell of a lot of damage to the soul of humanity [must have] a certain ability to dissociate.”
While Garfield was excited to step into a role that was a stark contrast to the typically sensitive, empathetic characters he’s become known for, he was more than happy to let go of the OpenAI CEO when the film wrapped. He added that characters like Altman and Hank, the sexual predator he played in Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt,” are challenging because his “from the inside out process” as an actor relies on finding an essence of the character somewhere inside himself.
“What Jung would call ‘the shadow self’,” he shared, “the aspects of ourselves that we disown. There’s something there for me to integrate, because I’m so afraid of being it.”
“I feel grateful to those experiences of playing those people,” he concluded. “But I don’t love it. Ultimately, I’m like, ‘Thank God that’s over.’ I felt that way with Sam and with Hank. Because I much prefer at least trying to be community-minded, a good friend. I love being a cozy guy.”
“Artificial” does not have an official release day just yet.
