Table of Contents
Andrew Garfield may have wanted people to talk about the issue of inequality through his new movie, but he likely didn’t predict that he himself would end up being the talk of it.
Garfield has faced criticism for encouraging billionaires to be “scared shitless” by his new historical film The Uprising during a movie screening in Los Angeles.
During a discussion about what message audiences should take from the film, the actor highlighted how the story focuses on ordinary people fighting powerful figures during England’s 1381 Peasants’ Revolt.
“I hope it will be very moving,” he said. “My wish is that people will get somewhat of an awakening.” Audiences talked about those final comments the most, especially when Garfield added, “If there are some billionaires in the audience, I hope they’ll be terrified.”
Far from disappearing after the screening, the remark continued to provoke criticism, with people turning their attention back to Garfield and questioning the contradiction in his own actions, given that he is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
The situation becomes even more complicated when we remember that Garfield will play OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in the forthcoming film Artificial.
Andrew Garfield hopes that The Uprising will bring people together
In addition to playing Ploughman, Garfield also contributes by directing part of the film Plague of the Black Death.
Historically, the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt was more than a political uprising, as it also reflected the agricultural and economic changes taking place in England at the time. Driven by frustration over heavy taxation, citizens finally dared to take to the streets to protest. Eventually, they managed to challenge King Richard II’s authority and force him to grant certain concessions, like abolishing some oppressive and unfair laws.
In his post-film LA session, Garfield said he did not want this story to be just another dry history class. “Well, first of all I hope they come and see it. That’s the main thing,” Garfield said. Second, I want the film to motivate and inspire people.”
Furthermore, he was hoping the audience could feel some identification with the characters and therefore understand that even though the setting is historical, there is something universal in the themes of the story, such as suffering.
Therefore, that’s the reason behind the reaction to his line about billionaires that he didn’t really foresee coming.
This event isn’t only a painting of a historical event that Garfield has come up with. Through this painting, he touches on the themes of injustice, the mourning process, the conflict of powers, and the call to create a more equal society.
He also explained in a press interview with E! News that the film is a reflection of a desire for a world that is fairer and that it touches on shared human pains that connect different periods of history.
The Uprising follows a fictional farmer in a real rebellion
Despite the director inventing the character, the rebellion that forms the basis of the movie was actually a real event in history.
Andrew Garfield, who plays the role of Ploughman, is a poor farmer who loses all his belongings and takes the side of the rebels to take revenge.
Meanwhile, one of the characters in the film, Wat Tyler (played by Cosmo Jarvis), was an actual leader of the 1381 revolt.
In addition to the above, the movie features Jamie Bell portraying John Ball, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Thomasin McKenzie, Jonny Lee Miller, and Woody Norman.
This film shows people at a time of great hardship turning to rebellion because the ruling class cruelly oppressed them, and that theme clearly reflects Garfield’s current views on billionaires, which makes it seem as though this movie is the perfect vehicle for his message.
To some extent, the marketing is giving people another chance to be interested in the movie while it’s still in the multiplexes.
Andrew Garfield movie had a strange Robin Hood identity crisis
After the audiences were quite sure they understood what the movie was about, the marketing team’s change in promotional strategy threw things into some disarray.
At the very beginning, the studio introduced this film to viewers merely as a historical drama based on the famous 1381 Peasants’ Revolt.
But before the public was able to get really curious about it, movie posters around the country suddenly started to feature it as a story of Robin Hood with *The Uprising: The Rise of Robin Hood*.
Of course, that raised a bunch of questions in the minds of the spectators, one of them being: was Andrew Garfield playing Robin Hood? He is not.
Garfield’s role is to play the fictional Ploughman. The film’s theme is a far cry from the typical Robin Hood story.
That connection was just a reference to the period of history and legends surrounding the revolt which inspired the film rather than an indication that Garfield’s character was Robin Hood.
The sudden marketing change even prompted confusion in the press, with *The Guardian* describing it as a marketing “meltdown.”
So, between a surprise Robin Hood connection and Garfield warning billionaires to be afraid, *The Uprising* has certainly found a way to generate conversation before its release.
Garfield’s billionaire comment sparks backlash
The actor’s comments quickly attracted criticism online. Spencer Pratt, the former reality TV star and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate, was among those who took aim at Garfield on X.
“You mean…like the billionaires who greenlight your movies and stroke your multi-million dollar paychecks? Or they good?” Pratt wrote.
Pratt then went after Garfield again, pointing to his upcoming role as Sam Altman in *Artificial*. He claimed that Garfield recently earned around $5 million for playing Sam Altman in Artificial.
If you look closely, this $5 million number is nothing else but Pratt’s assumption and has not yet been independently verified. Therefore, it cannot be accepted as Garfield’s verified salary.
On the other hand, the fact alone was enough to provide critics with a new way of challenging Garfield’s statements.
Considering all this, Garfield is advertising a film that invites people to reflect on wealth and power, on the one hand, and, on the other, is about to be one of the most famous tech personalities in history.
Critics question Garfield’s Hollywood position
Pratt was not the only person criticizing Garfield. Other commentators also questioned whether a wealthy Hollywood actor was the right person to tell billionaires to be afraid of his movie.
Some critics accused the film of pushing a socialist message, while others focused more directly on what they saw as the irony of a multimillion-dollar entertainment industry producing a movie about ordinary people rebelling against wealthy and powerful figures.
The criticism has also made the billionaire theme around *The Uprising* difficult to separate from Garfield’s own career.
Still, Garfield’s comment was made in the context of the film’s themes rather than as a detailed political speech about individual billionaires.
Actually, his broader point was that the movie would make people think about the struggles everyday people face and systems that make them powerless.
The question of whether or not moviegoers are on the matter is a whole other question.
Garfield’s portrayal of Sam Altman makes the backlash even more exciting
Garfield’s role in Luca Guadagnino’s feature Artificial makes the discussion even more intriguing, as he will portray OpenAI head, Sam Altman. This casting puts him in an unusual position while he promotes a film about challenging the powerful.
It’s such an irony that it almost creates its own celebrity news headline. That is why it was no surprise that Pratt’s statement had a big impact.
After all, Garfield definitely did not imply that acting for rich people is morally wrong. Still, they did find a contrast that they could emphasize in the media, and they did so.
Garfield’s desire for a gay Spider-Man is going strong even today
Giving out the rich person controversy, Garfield has also made headline news for other reasons.
During “The Uprising” promotion, he reminded everyone again of his personal stance that Spider-Man could be gay as a character in one of the future movies.
Andrew Garfield first introduced the idea over a decade ago during promotions for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, questioning why Peter couldn’t explore his sexuality and even suggesting turning MJ into a man. He even mentioned Michael B. Jordan as an actor who could potentially play that male version of MJ
Now, more than a decade later, Garfield still feels strongly about the idea. “I just still believe that anyone can be in that suit,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
According to Garfield, Spider-Man’s appeal comes partly from the fact that anyone can imagine themselves underneath the mask. His remarks have once again ignited a debate about the possibility of Marvel presenting an openly gay live-action Spider-Man to audiences at some point.
Marvel has already released a comic book openly gay Spider-Man character named Web-Weaver. But the live-action movies haven’t depicted Peter Parker that way.
Despite the whole commotion, Andrew Garfield would love to just take in the movie Paddington
Garfield was the one who gave the most serious conversation about The Uprising; however, he said that he gets away from a hard day shooting a film through a much simpler route. Watching, in his opinion, “stupid” films and television.
He was speaking to PEOPLE about the film when it opened in Los Angeles, and he revealed that it has been really exhausting to work on such a deep historical drama to the point that he gets his relief with a much lighter film.
“I watch stupid movies and dumb TV shows. I have a lot of dumb things,” he said.
Then he mentioned one of his favorites: “Paddington”. But Andrew Garfield immediately realized that he had perhaps chosen the wrong word.
“Right now, always, the Paddington movies,” he said, before correcting himself. “But they’re not dumb! They’re incredible movies.”
And perhaps that is the most unexpected thing about Garfield’s current movie tour. One minute, he’s telling billionaires to be scared of his new movie. The next, he’s happily defending a beloved British bear.
The Uprising arrives in U.S. theaters on September 11, and whether audiences see it as a powerful story about inequality or simply another historical drama, Andrew Garfield has certainly given people plenty to talk about before they even see it.
