Over the weekend, we learned that Andrew Garfield and professional witch Dr. Kate Tomas broke up “months ago.” Andrew is notoriously private about his personal life, so it’s no surprise that we learned about it through a now-deleted Instagram reply on one of Dr. Kate’s posts. While he may be protective of his love life, Andrew is currently promoting We Live in Time, a new romance flick he costars in with Florence Pugh. The two of them have done some fun, flirty YouTube videos together, including this one about how to pronounce Florence’s last name.
Andrew has also done some solo press, including a big story for Esquire, an appearance on Amelia Dimoldenberg’s Chicken Shop Date, which comes out on October 18, and an interview with People. While talking with People, Andrew told a story about doing a screen test with Ryan Gosling almost 20 years ago. Toby Maguire, Natalie Portman, and Jamie Bell were also attached to the project at one point. The movie never got off the ground, and to this day, two of the world’s favorite actors have still never worked together. That brief acting interaction had a lasting impact on Andrew, who absolutely gushes about Ryan, even going as far as to compare him to James Dean and Marlon Brando.
Andrew Garfield was mesmerized by Ryan Gosling’s Kenergy nearly two decades ago. Long before he played Spider-Man and his two Oscar nominations, young theater actor Garfield, now 41, did a screen test for a planned adaptation of Michael Chabon’s novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.
His scene partner: fellow up-and-coming actor Gosling, 43. “It felt like what I imagine it would’ve felt like working with James Dean or Marlon Brando,” Garfield tells PEOPLE. “Like an alive animal, spontaneous. That kind of style. You don’t know how he’s going to behave. It’s inventive. It’s truthful. It’s messy. It’s alive.”
Adds Garfield, “I was like, ‘I want to do that.’”
Since then Garfield has made his dream come true. Though the movie with Gosling never went forward, the British-American star, 41, has built a versatile career, showcasing his range in tense dramas (The Social Network), blockbuster action movies (The Amazing Spider-Man) and even a musical (Tick, Tick . . . Boom!).
All these years later, Garfield still hopes to work with the Barbie Oscar nominee.
What kind of film would he like to make with Gosling? “Anything really,” says Garfield. “I would just love to dance with him. So to speak, I just think he’s a remarkable actor and I would love to do anything with him.”
“But I don’t know. I have too many favorites of his to mention,” he says. “But you know, The Nice Guys is such a great film and I think what he brings to his comedic roles I find so inspiring. So I would love to maybe do something like that with him.”
He got the chance to work with another Hollywood heavyweight, Florence Pugh, on his new romance We Live in Time. Garfield plays Tobias, an affable everyman whose happily-ever-after with charming chef Almut Pugh) is upended by her cancer diagnosis.
The actor, whose mom Lynn died from cancer in 2019, says the script spoke to him. “I read it and I was like, ‘Oh, this is just what I’m going through anyway, really,’ in a different form. It wasn’t exactly what I was going through. But thematically, is what I was exploring in my life and sitting with and wondering about,” he says..
I love Andrew’s fanboying over Ryan and agree that these two absolutely need to work together. How is it possible that they haven’t even been in some big ensemble movie together? Someone make this happen, stat! We know they’re both good at comedy and can both sing and dance (Andrew is so, so good in Tick Tick… Boom), so I’m not opposed to them doing something that shows off those skills. I just don’t want it to be cheesy and lame! Or, idk, bring Andrew’s Spidey back and make Ryan a bad guy in it. I’m not super picky.
In the meantime, Andrew and Florence’s new movie, We Live in Time will have a full theatrical release on October 18. The plot sounds intense but the trailer has a lot of uplifting music, for whatever that’s worth. I’ve seen Andrew’s interviews with Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper, where he’s talking about his mother’s passing. It’s clearly affected him a lot, as you can imagine. You can check out the trailer below. It definitely gives off romantic drama vibes. I’m interested in seeing it.
photos credit: IMAGO/Clemens Niehaus/Avalon, Phil Lewis/Wenn/Avalon, Thomas Floyd/Crystal Pictures/Avalon, Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon, Getty and via Instagram/Valentino