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Andrew Garfield has disputed Sam Altman anecdote about their alleged meeting
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recalls having an interaction with Andrew Garfield, the actor playing him in the upcoming film Artificial. Garfield says it never happened. Who do you believe?
The Academy Award-nominated Garfield has disputed a story told by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman about their supposed encounter on the set of Artificial, the upcoming film in which the former Spider-Man actor portrays the controversial tech billionaire.
Andrew Garfield denies Sam Altman’s account of their encounter on the set of Artificial
In a new interview with GQ, Garfield claimed that he’s never met Altman, despite the OpenAI CEO previously telling Vanity Fair that he saw the actor filming outside his San Francisco home and that the two exchanged waves.
During an October interview with Vanity Fair, Altman recalled unexpectedly stumbling upon the production of Artificial while walking to get coffee near his home.
According to Altman, seeing an actor dressed exactly like him, complete with his signature backpack, was a surreal experience that made him feel as though he was living in a simulation.
Altman also claimed that he and Garfield acknowledged each other before going their separate ways. Garfield, however, tells a different story.
“I wasn’t there,” Garfield told GQ when asked about the alleged encounter.
Garfield explained that he had watched Altman’s interview multiple times because he was confused by the story, insisting that he had never seen the executive in person.
In response to Garfield’s comments, an OpenAI representative stood by Altman’s original story and told GQ that Altman was indeed home during filming and maintained that the two had waved at one another.
The conflicting accounts add another bizarre wrinkle to the relationship between Garfield and Altman, particularly given the reportedly unflattering portrayal of the OpenAI CEO in Artificial.
Directed by Challengers and Call Me by Your Name filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, Artificial chronicles the internal power struggle at OpenAI that resulted in Altman’s brief firing and subsequent reinstatement as CEO in November 2023.
Speaking to BroBible’s Post Credit Podcast earlier this year, Garfield discussed his experience portraying Altman, describing him as a “modern emperor” who believes he’s uniquely suited to lead during the artificial intelligence revolution.
“You could say you playing an emperor, a modern emperor, and then you play someone who’s at the mercy of the rules and the decisions the emperors are making,” Garfield said of his roles in Artificial and The Uprising.
“And then there’s Sam, who I do believe feels like he is the right leader for this moment; who has chosen the position. Or maybe he actually perceives it as having been thrust upon him as well; I don’t know. I feel like that’s a genuine self-belief. And you hope there’s healthy questioning in there.”
Artificial, which was originally set up at Amazon MGM Studios before being acquired by Neon, is scheduled to hit theaters on Christmas Day.