Andrew Garfield, an actor who has defined the notion of being a modern leading man with feelings, thinks cinemagoers should be free to show their emotion without apology.
Speaking to The Guardian, the star of We Live in Time, which came out this week, was told about a woman at a recent premiere of his movie who cried so much she felt compelled to apologize to everyone around her.
Garfield described this as a “shame” and said it is reflected particularly in the UK, where he grew up.
“That someone would feel that they had to apologise,” he said. “I think that speaks to a cultural thing that we have, particularly in the UK, where outward expressions of emotion are deemed somehow inappropriate or shameful.”
Garfield stars opposite Florence Pugh in Studiocanal‘s We Live in Time, a meet-cute movie set across various timelines about a woman who receives a late-stage cancer diagnosis.
During the press tour, Garfield has tackled grief plenty and he was warmly applauded for an appearance on Sesame Street several months back, during which he explained the concept of grief beside Elmo. You can rewatch that below.
Director John Crowley told The Guardian the movie “hits a section of our audience very hard.”
“I’ve had people say to me: ‘I can’t wait to watch it again on my own and have an ugly cry.’ It’s quite touching,” added Crowley.
Yesterday, Garfield, who has twice been Oscar nominated, was forced to once again deny rumors that he is preparing for another MCU outing in the next Spider Man, telling GQ UK “I’m gonna disappoint you.”