Andrew Garfield on His Sexuality: ‘I Have an Openness to Any Impulses’
Andrew Garfield is getting candid about his sexuality.
In a recent interview with OUT magazine, the actor explained that while he currently identifies as heterosexual, he sees attraction as fluid. "Up until this point, I’ve only been sexually attracted to women,” Garfield said. “My stance toward life, though, is that I always try to surrender to the mystery of not being in charge...I want to know as much of the garden as possible before I pass — I have an openness to any impulses that may arise within me at any time."
His comments come in response to remarks he made last summer while preparing for his role as Prior Walter in the National Theatre adaptation of Angels in America, a symbolic examination of queerness and AIDs in 1980s America. "I am a gay man right now, just without the physical act," he told Britain's Gay Times in July.
He was subsequently met with backlash from the LGBTQ community, who found the sentiment insensitive and reductive. Garfield later clarified his comment, telling BBC's Newsbeat that it was "of course not what [he] meant," and that he was "basically saying, 'I dive in as fully as I possibly can [when preparing for an important role].'"
He reiterated as much to OUT, saying the quote was taken out of context. "I think part of what I was trying to say was about inclusion, and about that openness to my impulses," he explained.
Garfield will reprise his role in Angels in America for the Broadway revival later this month.
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