It’s been a busy year for Andrew Garfield. The actor is most prominently remembered for his short turn as Spider-Man. However, he has proven his talent far beyond the tights wearing, wise cracking web slinger with more dramatic roles. Garfield has two films releasing this year in which he plays real life figures. In The Eyes of Tammy Faye, he plays Jim Bakker, the televangelist who was arrested on a slew of charges related to fraud. And in tick, tick…Boom! he plays Jonathan Larson, creator of the hit stage show Rent. The actor recently found time in between his busy schedule of denying Marvel rumors on various talk shows to sit down for an exclusive press conference with members of the Critics Choice Association. The conference was to discuss tick, tick… Boom!, which will release on Netflix November 19th. It was during this discussion that Garfield revealed the show that made him want to become an actor. And it’s a strange one.
Garfield credits the stage show Mnemonic as being his inspiration. He compares seeing Mnemonic to the moment in The Truman Show when Jim Carrey’s Truman discovers his existence is a lie and takes the first step through the door and out of his televised prison. “Everything melted, my face melted,” Garfield continued. “My psyche broke open.”
Mnemonic is an esoteric production from the mind of Simon McBurney (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1). The play is described as utilizing fragmented storytelling and spanning continents and centuries in an exploration of love and memories. The production released in 1999 and became an instant hit, winning the Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Play. Mnemonic may seem like a strange and obscure inspiration, but we’re certainly glad that Andrew Garfield saw it and that it made the impression on him that it did. Otherwise, we might have missed out on one of the best young actors working today.
tick, tick…Boom! releases on Netflix November 11th and features what I consider to be Andrew Garfield’s best performance.
Follow us for more entertainment coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Letterboxd.
