Andrew Garfield Says ‘I Had to Work Very Hard to Have Less People Ask Questions About Spider-Man’ at Marrakech Festival Press Conference

Elsa Keslassy

30 November 2024 at 6:21 am·3-min read

While at the Marrakech Film Festival where he’s serving on Luca Guadagnino‘s jury alongside Jacob Elordi, Andrew Garfield said he’s “had to work very hard to have less people ask questions about “Spider-Man.”

“I’m still working on it, obviously. It’s an imperfect process,” he quipped, as he had just been asked a question about his work on the superhero franchise.

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Garfield said he was nevertheless “grateful for that time” because “it allowed [him] to maybe have an easier shot at working with people like Martin Scorsese straight after.”

“I think Marty probably was able to get a passion project made with a guy who played Spider-Man in the lead to play a Jesuit priest in the 1600s of Japan. The fact that that film got made with the help of Spider-Man is a beautiful thing,” Garfield said, referring to Scorsese’s 2016 film “Silence.”

Guadagnino, who kicked off the Marrakech Film Festival last night with a tribute to his Moroccan roots and love for the city, followed Garfield’s remarks on the super-hero franchise and unexpectedly said he found Spider-Man to be a “fascinating superhero.”

“I remember when Sam Raimi directed his first one, and I was 28 or 29, I had these dreams because I’m kind of a megalomaniac, and I wished I had been asked to do one. So I wish I had directed you in ‘Spider-Man,'” Guadagnino said, looking at Garfield who was seating on his left. Guadagnino did just direct Garfield in the thriller “After the Hunt,” also starring Julia Roberts.

Garfield also talked about the making of “After the Hunt,” saying “Luca and myself, we’ve been trying to work together for 15 years, and finally, we managed to this summer.” “Some of the greatest experiences of my life have been having my consciousness blown apart by how other cultures create,” he said, also referring to his work with Japanese actors in “Silence” and with Iranian director Ramin Bahrani (who directed him in “99 Homes”). “We all long to live as many lives as possible and touch as much of the world as possible and as much of life as possible,” Garfield continued.

Elordi also said he aspired to work with international filmmakers like Guadagnino. Although there’s been persistent rumors he was going to star in Guadagnino’s new “American Psycho” movie, Elordi wouldn’t confirm and said “That’s news to me” with a smile, before looking and nodding at Guadagnino.

“I would work with a filmmaker from every country in the world. Cinema is this grand universal language, and I’ve barely even learned how to say hello,” said Elordi. “My dream is to work with all kinds of filmmakers and human beings and kinds of films.”

Elordi also talked about being on a film festival jury for the first time, and said the “most difficult thing about the process is the judging of the films,” and added, “The best thing is we get to watch two movies a day, and that’s a dream come true.” Being at Marrakech at the same time as fellow Aussie Justin Kurzel, who presented “The Order” on opening night, is another highlight for Elordi because the helmer’s debut feature “Snowtown” marked him when he was a teenager.

“As an Australian actor, that is the pinnacle of where you want to go and how you want to perform. I got to sit there and drink champagne with Justin Kurzel and Sean Penn last night. I look back at being 14 or 15 and watching that film, and I can’t quite believe that I am here,” said Elordi, who, like the rest of the Marrakech jury, was invited to the festival by its director, Melita Toscan du Plantier.

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