Artificial star Andrew Garfield thought Sam Altman could be his ‘future best friend’
Andrew Garfield and Sam Altman (Getty Images)
Andrew Garfield has said he once watched Sam Altman testify before Congress and came away thinking: “This guy might be like my future best friend.”
Speaking on Monday night during a Q&A after an AMPAS screening of Artificial in Los Angeles, Garfield recalled first seeing the OpenAI boss “testifying in front of Congress” and saying “incredibly righteous stuff” about transparency and the risks of AI.
“I thought it was also just incredibly courageous for an out gay tech genius to be sat in front of Republican congressmen who probably don’t believe in his right to exist,” Garfield said, as reported by Variety.
Garfield said those impressions, plus hearing Altman was meditating with Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield, left him “in such deep admiration” and imagining a real connection. “He’s genuinely great and he seems to really have his values and priorities in the right place,” he recalled thinking.
‘It’s all playing out’
Garfield then suggested his view had shifted, though stopped short of direct criticism.
“He convinced me that he was nothing but purely altruistic, which, I mean, it’s all playing out. I’m not gonna comment on those things,” he said. “We all are seeing what’s happening and we can all have our own feelings and opinions of that.”
Garfield also spoke about the wider stakes of AI, branding it “terrifying”. He added that artists and people with power should be part of regulation to avoid “giving our future away” and losing “all of our autonomy”.
What is Artificial about?
Directed by Luca Guadagnino, Artificial dramatises the founding of OpenAI and the firing and quick rehiring of Altman.
Garfield also disputed an anecdote Altman has told about the pair waving at each other during filming outside Altman’s San Francisco home. “I never had any interaction with him,” Garfield said. “I’ve never seen him in real life.” He added: “But, no, I never saw Sam, so he maybe mistook someone else for me. I have no idea, but I’ve never waved at Sam. I’ve never seen him. I was curious about that.”
In September 2026, Garfield said he was “really scared” about potential backlash to his portrayal of Altman in the film.
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