Andrew Garfield drawn to 'spiritual life': If I wasn’t an actor, I’d be doing theological study
Actor Andrew Garfield who gained international recognition for his superhero role in “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” revealed that he's drawn to films that deal with faith and spirituality.
Garfield has starred in films based on true stories or about people of faith throughout his career, from playing World War II Army medic Desmond T. Doss in “Hacksaw Ridge” to evangelist Jim Bakker in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.”
Now he's starring in the true-crime series “Under the Banner of Heaven,” inspired by Jon Krakauer's bestseller of the same name. In the FX limited series, the actor plays a detective wrestling with matters of faith and murder.
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“Questions of faith and spirituality, and the mystery of a spiritual life, is what I’m drawn to the most,” Garfield said in an interview with Vanity Fair.
He continued, “If I wasn’t an actor, I think I’d be doing some kind of theological study, and Dustin’s adaptation is that. He presents a study and a set of circumstances and unpicks the notion of fundamentalism and extremism, and how it undermines the virtues and the goodness that can come from having faith."
In the past, however, Garfield's views about religion were scattered and confused.
In 2016 Garfield told The Hollywood Reporter, “I’m not a Christian person. I consider myself pantheist, agnostic, occasionally atheist, and a little bit Jewish, but mostly confused.”
It's not clear where Garfield now stands concerning his faith journey because, in 2017, he recalled “falling in love” with Jesus Christ while playing a priest, Father Sebastiao Rodrigues, in Martin Scorsese’s film, “Silence.”
“What was really easy was falling in love with this person, was falling in love with Jesus Christ, that was the most surprising thing,” the celebrity told America magazine at the time. “That was the most remarkable thing — falling in love, and how easy it was to fall in love with Jesus.”
In another recent interview with Collider, the 38-year-old revealed that his motivation for portraying characters with faith storylines comes from a fascination with life and death.
“Life and death is everything,” he noted. The “finite nature of being here” and then suddenly dying is what intrigues him.
“For me, it’s a very fertile ground that is endlessly interesting,” he added. “Because if you’re dealing with spirituality, you’re dealing with faith, then you’re really dealing with life and death. And what’s more vital? What’s a greater question?”
Jeannie Ortega Law is a reporter for The Christian Post. Reach her at: jeannie.law@christianpost.com She's also the author of the book, What Is Happening to Me? How to Defeat Your Unseen Enemy Follow her on Twitter: @jlawcp Facebook: JeannieOMusic
