Andrew Garfield once believed Sam Altman was exactly the kind of leader the tech world needed. That impression didn’t survive his deep dive into the OpenAI chief’s world while preparing for director Luca Guadagnino’s new movie, Artificial, which premiered Monday at the New York Film Festival. Garfield now describes his early admiration as a cautionary tale about charisma and power in the artificial intelligence era.
Andrew Garfield recalls his evolving impression of Sam Altman
The actor traced his shift to watching Altman testify before Congress years ago. Garfield felt genuine optimism, “I was like, ‘This guy seems f**king great. He’s honest. He’s transparent. He’s talking about regulation, and he has no stake in OpenAI. We need more of these people in control. He’s incredibly charming and charismatic.” But then he added, “And then you learn more about a person.”
That arc, from trust to scrutiny, mirrors the film’s subject matter. Artificial dramatizes OpenAI’s rise and the turbulent stretch when the company fired Altman and soon after brought him back. Garfield plays the CEO at the center of it all. Preparation demanded immersion.
Andrew Garfield spent two to three months absorbing footage and audio of Sam Altman, a process that reshaped his view of the man. He also felt a moral pull toward the project, noting that “there were news stories coming out every day” about AI risks during production. “We need to shine the light as bright as possible at the nooks and crannies of people we’re giving all of our autonomy and power to,” he said, adding that he wished the film could carry “even more teeth” (via Variety).
Altman himself remains unmoved. He told Vanity Fair he hasn’t watched the film, predicting it “will not be good as an accurate depiction,” though he conceded it might work as a movie. Neon picked up Artificial after Amazon MGM dropped the nearly finished project and will release it in theaters on December 25.