Andrew Garfield drew fire online after warning billionaires they should be “scared sh–less” of his new historical drama.
The actor, 41, made the remark Thursday evening at a Los Angeles screening of “The Uprising,” where he appeared alongside director Paul Greengrass for a post-film Q&A. Video of the exchange was uploaded by film review site The Movie Report.
An audience member asked Garfield what he hoped viewers would take away from the picture. “Well, first I hope they come and see it, first thing,” he replied. “Secondly, I hope it’s galvanizing. I hope there’s some awakening that people feel … that we all feel like our own struggles are being reflected in the struggles of these characters from a distant time and place and that it could be directive.”
“And I hope that if any billionaires watch it, they’re scared sh–less,” Garfield added.
The comment ricocheted across X, where critics quickly noted the wealth Garfield himself has amassed through blockbusters including “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Hacksaw Ridge,” and both “Amazing Spider-Man” films.
Spencer Pratt, a former Los Angeles mayoral candidate, seized on what he called irony in Garfield’s position. “You mean…like the billionaires who greenlight your movies and stroke all your multi-million dollar paychecks? Or they good?” Pratt wrote. He continued, “Ironically, Garfield just got paid like $5M for playing billionaire Sam Altman in Artificial.”
Substack columnist John William Sherrod piled on with a similar line of attack. “Hilarious that world-famous, multi, multi millionaire Andrew Garfield is cosplaying as a put upon member of the working class,” he posted.
Noam Blum, chief technology officer at Tablet Magazine, took aim at the film’s financing. “More billionaires were involved in making this than will probably ever watch it,” he wrote.
The backlash extended beyond financial hypocrisy to political objections. Rick Davis, an associate pastor at Providence Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, voiced skepticism about the film’s ideological tilt. “When I first heard they were making a period film about Wat Tyler, I was pretty excited. But the more Andrew Garfield talks, the more it sounds like it’s just going to be socialist garbage,” Davis said. Garfield plays a fictional lead character named Ploughman in the film, while actor Cosmo Jarvis portrays historical rebel leader Wat Tyler.
“The Uprising” dramatizes England’s 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, set in the aftermath of the Black Death when crushing taxes levied by King Richard II’s court to fund the Hundred Years’ War drove impoverished commoners to rebellion. Greengrass, known for kinetic docudramas like “United 93” and the Jason Bourne films, directed the historical action drama.
Neither Garfield nor Greengrass responded to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
Garfield’s recent role as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in the upcoming film “Artificial” has become a particular flashpoint for critics, with Pratt’s estimate of a $5 million payday underscoring the perceived gap between the actor’s anti-billionaire rhetoric and his own Hollywood compensation.