A spider species is named after Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man
Andrew Garfield only took up drama at sixteen because a friend's A-level class was one pupil short. That accident led to a BAFTA, a Tony, two Oscar nominations and a web-slinging role so admired that arachnologists named a crevice weaver spider, Pritha garfieldi, in his honour.
Garfield was born in Los Angeles on 20 August 1983 to an Essex-born mother and a Californian father, and the family moved to Epsom in Surrey when he was three. His paternal line came from Jewish immigrants to London, and the surname was once Garfinkel; on the BBC genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are? in 2025 he traced roots to Kielce in Poland. As a boy he was a gymnast and swimmer, planned to study business, and poured coffee at Starbucks branches in north London and then enrolled to study acting at London's Central School of Speech and Drama.
Stage work came first. A Manchester production of Kes won him a newcomer prize in 2004, and he played Romeo at the same Royal Exchange Theatre a year later. Television followed with Sugar Rush and a two-part Doctor Who story in 2007. That same year he played a released killer trying to rebuild his life in the Channel 4 film Boy A, a role that earned a BAFTA for Best Actor.
In 2010 two films changed his standing. He played the wounded, love-struck Tommy in Never Let Me Go, adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, and Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network. David Fincher had first considered him for Mark Zuckerberg but decided his emotional openness suited Saverin better. Critics were startled when the Academy passed him over.
The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012, directed by Marc Webb, grossed more than $752 million worldwide; to prepare, Garfield studied how athletes and spiders move and practised yoga and pilates. A Sony and Marvel deal later handed the part to Tom Holland. He returned to the role in 2021's No Way Home and drew Oscar nominations as the conscientious objector Desmond Doss in Hacksaw Ridge and the composer Jonathan Larson in Tick, Tick... Boom!
Source: Andrew Garfield
