Andrew Garfield has admitted he thinks about leaving Hollywood behind “all the time” after revealing he has spent almost a year working on back-to-back projects.
The Amazing Spider-Man star opened up about his future during an interview after he was asked if he has “ever thought about leaving it all behind”.
“All the time. I’ve worked a lot this year. I’ve done like 11 months, 12 months, straight back-to-back projects,” he admitted.
Dreams of the Somerset countryside
He added that he wants audiences to see the projects he has made, but would rather not have to spend time promoting them: “I want people to see those projects, so I’m gonna have to tell people about them. I get that. But if I had my druthers, people would just see them, and I could go whittle wood in the Somerset countryside and think about what the birds might be doing,” he told Variety.
He also confessed that his dreams are now more focused on his personal goals, rather than his career milestones. Reflecting on where he was 15 years ago he said: “I was doing 'Spider-Man.' That was a dream from 40 years ago, so I was checking off one of my big dreams. I was also checking off just being an actor. I still have dreams, but they’re slightly more earthbound than my previous ones.”
“They’re maybe a bit more philosophical and existential than achievement based. Now I think it’s more I want a certain quality of life. I want a certain quality of relationships with my family and friends. I want a certain quality of relationship with myself,” he said.
Past retirement rumours
The actor's comments come as he continues to take on major Hollywood roles, following a particularly busy period in his career. Garfield famously returned as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home alongside Tom Holland and Tobey Maguire, having previously played the superhero in The Amazing Spider-Man and its 2014 sequel.
Garfield has previously spoken about the pressures of a packed schedule, accidentally sparking retirement rumours. In 2022, after a run of major projects including The Eyes of Tammy Faye, tick, tick...BOOM! and Spider-Man: No Way Home, he told Variety: “I’m going to rest for a little bit.”
He said he needed to “recalibrate” and reconsider what he wanted to do next before adding: “I need to just be a bit ordinary for a while.” Garfield later clarified that he was not retiring, telling The View: “I’m just having a holiday.”
Now, four years on, the actor's latest comments suggest the temptation to escape the Hollywood spotlight has not entirely gone away.
