Andrew Garfield Sparks Backlash After Telling Billionaires to Be ‘Scared’ of His New Movie ‘The Uprising’

Andrew Garfield has never been shy about using his platform to speak candidly, whether the topic is superhero franchises, industry politics, or the kinds of stories he chooses to tell. That willingness to speak his mind has made him one of Hollywood’s more outspoken leading men, especially as he’s moved into more socially conscious projects in recent years.

His latest film continues that pattern, diving into a piece of English history that carries obvious modern parallels. ‘The Uprising,’ directed by Paul Greengrass, dramatizes England’s 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, depicting how crushing taxes imposed by King Richard II’s court to fund the Hundred Years’ War eventually pushed impoverished commoners to their breaking point.

That historical backdrop set the stage for comments Garfield made during a Q&A following a Los Angeles screening of the film on Thursday. When an audience member asked what he hoped viewers would take away from the story, Garfield didn’t hold back, saying he hoped that if any billionaires watched the movie, they’d come away scared out of their minds.

The remark, captured in footage uploaded by film outlet The Movie Report, drew cheers and applause from the crowd in attendance. Garfield followed the line by expressing hope that the film would prove galvanizing, adding that he wanted audiences to feel their own struggles reflected in the struggles of characters from a distant time and place.

Online reaction told a different story than the room’s warm response. Critics quickly pointed out the irony of a wealthy movie star positioning himself as a voice for the working class, with one Substack columnist calling it hilarious that a world-famous, multi-millionaire actor was cosplaying as a put-upon member of the working class.

Other critics took aim at the production itself, with one commentator noting that more billionaires were likely involved in financing the film than would ever actually watch it. Reports have estimated Garfield’s net worth at roughly $16 million, a figure critics were quick to cite in pushing back against his comments.

The backlash extended beyond social media snark into more pointed political criticism. One associate pastor from Virginia remarked that what initially sounded like an exciting period piece about historical rebel leader Wat Tyler increasingly sounded like it was shaping up to be little more than politically charged messaging, given how Garfield had been discussing the project publicly.

In the film, Garfield plays a fictional character known as the Ploughman, one of the uprising’s leaders, while actor Cosmo Jarvis takes on the historical role of Wat Tyler himself. The billionaire comment wasn’t the only controversy swirling around the project recently, either, with some viewers previously expressing confusion after early promotional materials briefly linked the film to the fictional character of Robin Hood.

Garfield’s comments arrived just days after another set of remarks drew separate attention, when the actor revisited long-standing thoughts he first shared over a decade ago about the possibility of a gay Spider-Man. He reaffirmed a position originally voiced back in 2013 during promotion for ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2,’ explaining that part of the character’s appeal has always been that anyone could imagine themselves behind the mask.

Neither Garfield nor Greengrass have responded publicly to requests for comment regarding the billionaire remarks controversy. As ‘The Uprising’ continues its promotional rollout ahead of release, the debate over Garfield’s comments shows no signs of slowing down, adding another layer of conversation to a film already generating attention for its politically charged subject matter.

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