Andrew Garfield’s stage history

Andrew Garfield turns 43 today, 20 August!

Perhaps best known for spinning webs as Spider-Man, the much-loved actor has always been in love with theatre. He has publicly declared Bugsy Malone as his favourite musical movie, and as a teenager, played Fat Sam in Epsom’s Youth Theatre Workshop. Even today, he sets that performance as his benchmark!

After falling into acting more seriously by accident at college level, the performer went on to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama. While there, some of the titles he appeared in include Hamlet at the Globe Theatre, as well as Troilus and Cressida, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and All My Sons. Now, he has a Tony Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA lining his mantelpiece.

To celebrate his birthday, we’re looking back at what the famous actor has achieved on stage since putting down the splurge gun. For ease, we’re including only full runs and not cameo appearances or readings.

A Mother’s Song (2000)

Aged just 17, Garfield spent his summer in Edinburgh at the Fringe Festival performing in a retelling of the Japanese folktale Sansho. The piece was written by his influential drama teacher, Phil Tong. In an interview with Surrey Live, the teacher recalled seeing the young performer acting as a giant baby in a romper suit for a school play, and encouraged him to join his A-Level course. Tong said: “I asked him if he’d thought of being an actor and when he said ‘no,’ I said, ‘You could’.”

He returned to Edinburgh the following summer in a student production of Making Echoes.

The Tales of Ovid (2001)

Ted Hughes’s retellings of Ovid’s Metamorphoses were staged in Surrey under Tong’s direction, in what would be Garfield’s final student production. In it, he played Tereus and Narcissus – who famously rejects an infatuated nymph. Little did he know the devotion that would follow!

Mercy (2004)

In the same year he graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama, Garfield made his professional acting debut. Mercy was written by Irish playwright Lin Coghlan and directed by Paul Miller at the Soho Theatre. In the show, Garfield played Deccy, who was part of a group of disadvantaged children who find themselves in the countryside and commit a petty crime and end up on the run.

Kes (2004)

Barry Hines’ classic novel A Kestrel for a Knave was adapted for the stage, and kept the shortened title adopted from the 1969 film. It follows a misunderstood boy, Billy, who, while being bullied, learns to raise and train a kestrel chick. In the WhatsOnStage review, Garfield is singled out as providing “a powerhouse performance as the gangly, neglected kid that people look right through” while British Theatre Guide commented that “[Garfield] plays him as the sort of boy that every school will recognise as someone who appears during school time to be a complete waste of space, but who may well have a talent or a passion that the education system would never find or even be interested in.” Under the direction of Sarah Frankcom, the actor earned his first theatre award from Manchester Evening News for Best Newcomer, after a roaring review.

The Laramie Project (2005)

Garfield appeared opposite a young Russell Tovey in a play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project, who interviewed over 200 people for the piece. The Laramie Project, running at the now-demolished Sound Theatre, was written in reaction to the 1998 murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, and the lack of hate crime laws across the States. In an archive review of the production, WhatsOnStage reviewer Carole Woddis called the actor an “up-and-coming talent.” They weren’t wrong!

Romeo and Juliet (2005)

Jacob Murray set his Royal Exchange take on the tragic Shakespearean tale in the 1960s, and cast Garfield as one half of the star-crossed lovers – la dolce vita style! In a review from the BBC, their critic wrote that Garfield presented an “angst-ridden, obsessively hair-stroking Romeo,” opposite Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Juliet.

Beautiful Thing (2006)

In London, Garfield played Jamie, who is slowly falling in love with his classmate and neighbour, Ste (played by Gavin Brocker), on a post-war council estate. It was one of many revivals of Jonathan Harvey’s play, which continues to be staged regularly.

Burn/Chatroom/Citizenship (2006)

This series of three plays focuses on the drama of teenage life. Marking his debut at the National Theatre, Garfield appeared opposite another famous actor, Matt Smith! Both received glowing reviews in The Guardian as their critic, Michael Billington, wrote: “Matt Smith as the cynical word-master and Andrew Garfield as his bewildered victim give unforgettable performances.”

The Overwhelming (2006)

While playing a “bolshie teenage son,” The Independent called Garfield an “outstanding newcomer.” JT Rogers’ powerful political play about life and genocide in Rwanda was a co-production between the National Theatre and Max Stafford Clark’s Out of Joint. It took the actor across the UK on a tour.

Death of a Salesman (2012)

After a few years making a name for himself on television, earning a BAFTA, starring in The Social Network and filming Spider-Man (phew), Garfield made his Broadway debut. He played Biff Loman in a revival of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, with co-stars including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Linda Emond and John Glover, and subsequently picked up a Tony Award nomination for his performance.

Angels in America (2017)

Continuing his glory, Garfield took on the role of Prior Walter in Tony Kushner’s two-part play Angels in America. It took the actor back to the National Theatre and also reunited him with Tovey, who was in the cast alongside Nathan Lane, James McArdle and Denise Gough, all directed by Marianne Elliott. For his performance, he earned the Olivier Award, and when the show transferred to Broadway a year later, he won the Tony.

tick, tick, Boom! (2021)

Though not on stage, how could we not include Garfield’s leading, Golden Globe-winning, Oscar-nominated performance in Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical piece? Directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the 2021 film is based on the hit, but rarely staged, musical. The film is an absolute treasure trove for fans of musical theatre, featuring a wealth of cameos and Easter Eggs.