Top 10 Greatest Andrew Garfield Performances

Top 10 Andrew Garfield Performances

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Andrew Garfield Performances.

For this list, we’ll be looking at the range the British and American actor has to offer. This is your official spoiler alert for the few spoilers ahead.

What is your favorite thing you’ve seen Andrew Garfield in? Let us know in the comments below!

#10: “Silence” (2016)

Martin Scorsese is known for making masterpieces, and “Silence” is no different. In this epic historical drama, Garfield plays a Jesuit Priest alongside actors Liam Neeson and Adam Driver. Yet the actor’s performance still shines bright among his co-stars. Garfield took his art to the extreme and reported he lost 40 pounds to portray Sebastião Rodrigues. His dedication definitely paid off as it translated into a truly emotional performance. Though the role isn’t typical for the actor, we’re glad he was the one who took it on.

#9: “Boy A” (2007)

After 14 years in juvie, Eric Wilson reenters society with a second chance under his new identity Jack Burridge. However, a good deed garners negative attention and threatens Jack's chances of starting over. It's a demanding role that requires its star to dig deep to uncover Jack's complicated web of emotions. Garfield easily won audiences over with his heartfelt and sincere portrayal. It's one of his finest performances, and the authenticity he puts into the character hits like a punch to the gut. He won a well-deserved BAFTA, and supposedly, it's this role that helped put him on the map - at least in the UK - and quite rightly too.

#8: “Breathe” (2017)

Garfield has shown off his chops playing fictional characters, but in more recent years he has taken on a lot of roles based on real people. In this 2017 film, he portrays Robin Cavendish, who was an advocate for people with disabilities that was paralyzed himself by polio. He stars alongside “Crown” actress Claire Foy. Their shared chemistry took the biographical drama to another level of emotion. He really brings the character to life as we watch polio change the man. Thanks to both the prosthetic makeup and his acting skills, Garfield is barely recognizable by the end, but that only serves to make the performance even more convincing.

#7: “Angels in America” (2017-18)

In 2017, Garfield joined the star-studded cast of this Marianne Elliot-helmed production at London's National Theatre. He played Prior Walter in the Tony Kushner play, a young man living with AIDs during the height of the epidemic in 1980s New York. As always, Garfield has an exceptional ability to get into his character's psyche and channel deep emotions in a striking and affecting way, and this role's no different. Whether he's depicting heartache and pain or optimism and hope, it's impossible to remain unmoved anytime he graces the stage. Critics singled out Garfield's performance, calling it a career highlight and earning him an Olivier nomination. Meanwhile, his 2018 Broadway reprisal of Prior nabbed him the Tony for for Best Actor in a Play.

#6: “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (2021)

Jim Bakker was best known for being a televangelist and a con artist. As a public figure, he certainly had a huge personality, which Garfield portrayed perfectly in this 2021 biographical drama. Both Garfield and his co-star Jessica Chastain - who plays the titular role and Bakker’s wife - are practically unrecognizable in character. But outside of hair and makeup, the actor really sends the role home by matching the fraudster’s mannerisms. It’s not unreasonable to say that he is heading into the peak of his career, considering the work he’s been doing in the 2020s!

#5: “Never Let Me Go” (2010)

The story of this romantic tragedy is set in a dystopian world based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel of the same name. Garfield acts alongside fellow British talents, Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan as people whose fates are already predetermined for them. The movie doesn’t exactly set the characters up for happy endings, so there was no shortage of emotional moments throughout. The scene where Garfield’s Tommy D finds out his life won’t be spared was nothing short of heartbreaking to watch. 2010 was really a breakout year for the rising star, with roles that really put him on the map as an actor to keep an eye on.

#4: “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012)

Recasting Peter Parker in the 2010s was a controversial move, to say the least. Andrew’s performance as the friendly neighborhood hero wasn’t well received by everyone in 2012. But since the release of “Spider-Man No Way Home”, the script has seemingly flipped, with people re-evaluating and loving the actor’s Spidey right now. Even though he was a bit old for the role at the time, he was still able to bring life to parts of Peter Parker that just weren’t shown in the Tobey Maguire rendition, like his goofiness and extreme intelligence. We just hope the newfound Garfield love will lead to The Amazing Spider-Man 3 that we all deserved.

#3: “The Social Network” (2010)

Eduardo Saverin helped create Facebook from the ground up with Mark Zuckerberg in the 2000s. Unfortunately, when Facebook was gaining success, the CEO of what’s now known as Meta had Saverin’s shares diluted to cut him out of the venture. We can’t imagine how that must have felt, but Andrew Garfield could. His acting in “The Social Network” was spectacular, but the scene after he learned his stake was diluted was truly award-worthy. We could feel every ounce of anger and hurt while watching him. His supporting performance even got him nominated for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe.

#2: “Hacksaw Ridge” (2016)

Though his father is Jewish and his mother is “a kind of pantheist,” Garfield is no stranger to taking on Christian roles. 2016 saw him appear in a film where he took on the role of a Jesuit Priest as well as one set during the 2nd World War where he played a Seventh-day Adventist. Desmond Doss enlists in the army as a combat medic after the Pearl Harbor attack and is met with a bunch of men that don’t want him there because of his beliefs. Even in the face of adversity however, he sticks it out and ends up saving a lot of lives. The actor gives us a full range of emotions, from the highest highs of finding love to the lowest lows of meeting death in this one - in other words, “Hacksaw Ridge” has no shortage of feels.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

“Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974” (2009)
In an Early Role, Eddie Dunford Gets Wrapped Up in the Yorkshire Ripper Killings

“Under the Silver Lake” (2018)
As Sam, Andrew’s Emotional Range Is on Full Display & It’s Terrifying

“99 Homes” (2014)
Garfield Masterfully Shows the Hardships of the 2007-09 Great Recession

“Mainstream” (2020)
We Needed Unhinged, Bleach-Blond, Glittery-Eyed Garfield During 2020

#1: “Tick, Tick... Boom!” (2021)

Jonathan Larson rose to posthumous fame for his musical Rent. But before that, his previous work also addressed social issues, including the focus of this entry, which is based on the semi-autobiographical musical of the same name. When Lin-Manuel Miranda first started casting for the role of Larson, he knew he was interested in Garfield, despite the actor's lack of singing ability. So after the director told him about the project, the actor decided to get singing lessons in order to do the role justice. And we just gotta say: WOW. It is almost startling how well he is able to match Larson’s movements and behaviors, especially during his performance of the song “30/90.” Garfield has already won a Golden Globe for his role, and we expect to see him receive a few more awards for this one.