Sam Altman says seeing Andrew Garfield film Artificial was ‘really weird’
Andrew Garfield plays Sam Altman in Artificial (Getty Images)
Sam Altman says he once walked out for coffee and found Andrew Garfield wearing an identical outfit and carrying the same backpack as him while Artificial was filming near his home.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, the out gay OpenAI CEO said he has never met Garfield, who plays him in Luca Guadagnino’s film, but the pair did share a brief moment on the street.
Altman said he had seen filming notices beforehand but did not realise what they were for. “And then one morning, I was walking down the street to get coffee and there were all these cameras and there was a guy dressed exactly like me with my same backpack walking so much that I felt I was in some weird glitch of the simulation or something,” he said.
“We waved and went on, but it was really weird,” Altman added. He said it was strange to see someone who had “nailed your kind of quirky mannerisms”.
Artificial dramatises the five-day period in 2023 when Altman was ousted from OpenAI and then rehired.
Garfield previously said he was “really scared” about potential backlash to his portrayal of Altman in the film, and stressed that he had not met him.
‘I don’t think they’re going for accuracy’
Altman said he has watched the trailer and concluded of Garfield’s performance: “He did walk like me.”
He also said he is not expecting the film to be a faithful retelling of events. “I don’t think they’re going for accuracy,” Altman said. “It will not be good as an accurate depiction. Except for the walk.”
As an example, Altman pointed to a trailer moment showing him rushing into a bunker lined with weapons. “There’s no bunker with firearms on the wall,” he said, adding: “That’s an example of inaccuracy, but I did look kind of cool.”
Andrew Garfield on Sam Altman
Altman’s comments come as Artificial premiered at the New York Film Festival, where Garfield said he was initially charmed by Altman after seeing him testify to Congress.
“I was like, ‘This guy seems f****** 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.’ And then you learn more about a person,” he said, as per Variety.
He also said he spent “two to three months” listening to and watching footage of Altman while preparing for the role, and added: “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.”
Neon is distributing Artificial after Amazon MGM Studios dropped the film following Amazon’s $50billion investment and partnership with OpenAI.
The film is set for US cinemas on 25 December, with a UK release date of 7 January, 2027.
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