Over the past few years, Andrew Garfield has shown off his tremendous talent in front of the camera in a number of great films like Never Let Me Go, 99 Homes and The Social Network. However, in 2016, after being done with The Amazing Spider-Man franchise, he did his best work in two completely different movies: Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge and Martin Scorsese’s Silence. Both films allowed Garfield to show his range as an actor because of amazing scripts and brilliant direction. It’s kind of incredible they both got released in the same year.
With Silence now in theaters around the country, I recently landed an exclusive interview with the busy actor. He talked about being praised for his work in both films, what it was like to work with Scorsese, the challenges of filming Silence on location and in tough shooting conditions, how he prepared for the role, the longer cut of Silence and what we can do to see it, if all great directors share any similarities, and so much more. Check out what he had to say below.
As most of you know, Silence stars Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver as two Jesuits on an expedition through Japan in the 17th century to find their mentor (Liam Neeson), whom many (including Ciarán Hinds) believe to have committed heresy. The project has long been a dream for Scorsese who has spent decades trying to bring Shusaku Endo’s 1966 acclaimed novel to life.
COLIIDER: Let’s jump in. This past year you’ve gone back-to-back with two incredible roles, what it is like doing Hacksaw Ridge then Silence and having them both come out and having your performances in both being praised by so many people?
ANDREW GARFIELD: Oh, terrible…It’s just like, where do I go from here? [Laughs]. I’m very appreciative of it. It’s very gratifying obviously, because we’ll work hard at what we do because we love it and sometimes that hard work gets recognized and sometimes it doesn’t. I really grateful for the moments when it does and it helps to get through the times where it doesn’t in a bit of an easier way. So I’m holding on to it and I’m enjoying it as much as I can.
Ultimately I love these films very much. I’m very, very proud to be a part of them and to be a collaborator with these two filmmakers. To be able to work on Martin Scorsese’s passion project with him is a dream come true. So yeah, I’m just trying to enjoy it and be present and stand by these stories that I think are really important.
Obviously we’re all fans of Scorsese and I’m sure you grew up loving Scorsese. What surprised you about collaborating with him on Silence?
GARFIELD: I was really kind of surprised at how free he was every day we shot. He wasn’t imposing or didactic to his actors...He would direct if he felt the need to, but otherwise he was very trusting of the actors that he cast and what they were bringing to it. That was an incredible surprise. I was kind of expecting to show up and just have him puppeteer me, and part of me wanted that because I think he’s so damn brilliant, but the fact is that he empowered us. He empowered us to go further and be more kind of wild and unknown and dangerous than we’d been previously. So that was a wonderful surprise.
In your career you’ve gotten to work with such gifted filmmakers, Mark Romanek, [David] Fincher, [Mel] Gibson, Scorsese, that’s just a few. Is there a similarity between these filmmakers, or are they all very unique?
GARFIELD: They’re all very unique. The similarity I would say was the confidence, a confidence and a willingness and therefore an ability to collaborate. A feeling of the best idea wins. And, again, an empowerment of everyone they’re working with. That’s great leadership, tremendous leadership, when you feel a stake in the company and you feel like you matter. And not only that, but if you’re not pulling your weight, then the ship is gonna get veered off-track.
That is what I would say about these filmmakers, is that they understand what it is to be in a collaborative art and they’re confident enough to allow to everyone’s gifts to be present. And they are all...I don’t know, they’re in touch with their genius enough where they attract other people that would show up and do anything for them. Just because of their ability to tell a story in a way that’s compelling and unique and profound. That’s all we want to do as storytellers, to make stories in a way that is inspiring and is gonna make a difference in people’s lives.
You guys shot on location in some really interesting terrain, up long hills –I’ve spoken to some people who worked on it and they said is was some very interesting locations and a very long shoot. Can you talk about the challenge of this role in particular in a place where you’re not on some sound stage?
GARFIELD: I think it was a powerful part of the experience. I don’t think would’ve been what it was without those locations and without that kind of challenge. Rodrigo Prieto had a very challenging thing on his hands, him and Marty, because the weather would be changing all the time. It would go from incredibly hot to incredibly cold, incredibly sunny to full of fog, rainy, muddy, dry, arid, it was all over the shop all the time.
So they were given tremendous production challenges and yet they managed to use each of the natural elements in service of visual language for the internal struggle of the characters in the film. That was incredibly inspiring to be around. And for the actors it’s useful to feel that arduousness of what it is to ask these very, very deep and difficult questions. These are not simple questions to answer, the ones these characters are chasing. So the landscape internally as well as externally is a very uneven land, it’s very scary and full of danger.
I would imagine when preparing for a role you put pressure on yourself as an actor, but when you’re getting ready to work for Scorsese, did you have any sort of added pressure that you put on yourself?
GARFIELD: Yes, but hopefully it was the kind of pressure that propels you. Of course, man, fuck, it’s Scorsese, fuck. What the fuck am I doing in a Scorsese movie? But here we are, hoping it can go well. I can only do my best, so then you just do your best and it never feels good enough because you know the bar is so high and that propels you further. The only thing I had to do was really show up and not run away, that was really it. Because if I show up I’m gonna do my best, but if I run away I don’t get a chance to try.
I’ve spoken to a lot of people that say that for the first few days of filming any movie, especially with a big director like a Scorsese, they’re nervous they’re just gonna get fired, that they’re gonna see through the lies and I’m done. So what day did you feel like, “Ok. This is really my part, and this is really gonna be me”?
GARFIELD: That’s so interesting. I don’t know what the day was, I don’t know –I think it was probably, if I remember correctly, a mini-freakout about a week before we started shooting. Me and Marty were talking a lot while we were in Taiwan and hanging out a lot and just talking about the film and ironing out questions and problems. But basically I remember going into his room in his hotel and just kind of saying, “Are you sure about this?” [Laughs]. “Are you sure? I’m feeling a little bit lost in the wilderness here. I don’t really know whether I can do this.” And he just kind of looked at me and was like, “That’s the exact right place where you should be. That’s exactly where Rodrigues is, that’s exactly where you are, this is perfect. I knew you were right for it.” And he would just say, “Trust that it’s inside you. It’s all in there. You the answers much more than I do.” So that’s pretty empowering for the master.
Everyone likes to work a little differently on set. I’ve spoken to some actors who like to have music, that some love silence, then you’re balancing that with the people you are working with and the director and the way he likes to work. So talk a little bit about the way you like to work versus the way Scorsese like to work and how that was on set together.
GARFIELD: It was pretty simpatico. We’ve got a nice rhythm together and it all felt pretty damn good ultimately. He was very accommodating with me in terms of there are some scenes where I was very kind of intent and requested that they would do my coverage first. All the stuff with watching the torture of these villagers and especially the first time that I see Liam [Neeson]’s character, Father Ferreira, I wanted to capture my first reaction to that, to seeing him after all these years and after all this suffering and after all this longing. I wanted the camera to just pick up what happened in the moment, and he was so excited of that kind of way of working, as was Rodrigo, he would prioritize performance when he needed to, otherwise he would do things in a different way. But he knew those moments, he knew what those moments were intuitively, so we would talk a lot about that.
We’ve spoken about Silence before, and everyone knows that Scorsese had a longer cut and he trimmed it down to something manageable. Because while you and I would sit through a sixteen-hour Scorsese movie, the average person probably would not. So obviously saw a longer cut, did you notice when you saw the longer cut and the theatrical cut a big difference, or did it feel like it was sort of all there just maybe tightened?
GARFIELD: Yeah, I think the last thing you said. I would’ve loved the longer cut just because I love the film so much and I wanted everything that he shot to be on screen. I feel the film is timeless in terms of its narrative, there’s something very mysterious about it. So yeah, the final cut is just a tighter version of the first one I saw, with a lot of fat trimmed out. But fat that was hard to take away because it’s such a rich story and how do you get it down to even two and a half hours. You’re dealing with big questions, you’re dealing with the meaning of life really, the meaning of why we’re all here.
My next thing, which is probably the most important thing I’ll ask you, what do I need to do to convince Martin to show that longer cut on Blu-ray?
GARFIELD: That would be cool, I don’t know if it would take much convincing, I think that would be pretty amazing. I wonder whether he has an assembly of his original cut. I’m sure he would need to polish it, so maybe that’s just a bit more work than he’s able to do right now. But wouldn’t that be amazing. What do you have to do? I don’t know, maybe get a petition started, or maybe we could make a viral video for him. I don’t know. That would be amazing though, I’d love that too.
You think I’m joking with you, but this is like half the reason we’re talking, to get you on board with this. Because I need people reaching out to him saying…
GARFIELD: I’m on board, I’m on board.
We gotta make this happen, this is priority one.
GARFIELD: Ok, let’s do it.
A few years ago, I spoke to Thelma [Schoonmaker] which was an amazing experience for me as a long-time Scorsese fan. But there’s so much footage from so many of his movies that has never seen the light of day, and I just need…
GARFIELD: I know, I know, and it’s great footage too. I know there’s some stuff that was in there before that’s not in there now that I’m like kicking myself over. But it’s true, they have this rich archive of incredible unseen stuff.
You’re in the circle now, so you need to start whispering.
GARFIELD: Ok, man. I’m gonna figure out for you.
I’m so serious. Whatever I need to do.
GARFIELD: [Laughs] I love it.
Were there a few scenes or a scene that isn’t in the finished film that you are still like, “Marty, really? That scene had to go?”?
GARFIELD: Yeah, there are definite moments. There a couple of scenes but I can’t re-go into that because I respect what Thelma and Marty have done so much, and I think that they made such incredible decisions across the board. And I was didn’t feel like I had any idea better than theirs, they really are masters.
I completely agree. Listen, I mean it sincerely, such great work in Silence and Hacksaw.
GARFIELD: Thanks, man.
I’m so happy for you. And whatever I need to do to get that longer cut seen.
GARFIELD: Let’s talk.