Sam Altman’s Brother Isn’t Impressed by Andrew Garfield’s Take on Him in New ‘Artificial’ Trailer

The world of AI has produced no shortage of larger-than-life personalities over the past few years, but few have generated as much fascination as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Between his sudden ouster and rapid reinstatement in 2023, Altman’s story has already taken on the shape of a Hollywood thriller, so it was only a matter of time before someone actually turned it into one.

That someone is director Luca Guadagnino, whose upcoming film ‘Artificial‘ dramatizes the chaotic five days that saw Altman fired and then rehired as OpenAI’s chief executive. Andrew Garfield takes on the role of Altman himself, joined by a cast that includes Yura Borisov, Monica Barbaro, Ike Barinholtz, Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, and Mark Rylance.

When the film’s first trailer dropped this week, it didn’t take long to go viral, and it wasn’t just industry watchers weighing in. Sam Altman’s younger brother Jack, a partner at venture capital firm Benchmark, posted a blunt reaction to Garfield’s performance, joking that the only thing the film seemed to get right about his brother was the walk.

Jack didn’t hold back once he saw the footage. He wrote on X that he would love nothing more than a feature-length film making fun of his brother, but based on the preview, joked that the only thing the filmmakers nailed was Altman’s walk.

The comment quickly picked up traction beyond just Altman family followers. Pirate Wires founder Mike Solana amplified the sentiment online, describing Garfield’s take on Altman’s walk specifically as uncannily accurate, even as the rest of the portrayal drew more skepticism.

‘Artificial’ isn’t shaping up to be a conventional cradle-to-boardroom biopic. Written by ‘Miracle Workers’ creator Simon Rich, the film instead zeroes in on the tense period surrounding Altman’s firing, with the trailer building toward an unnerving confrontation between Garfield’s Altman and Yura Borisov’s take on former OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, who reportedly played a key role in orchestrating that firing.

The teaser itself leans into unsettling, almost cult-like imagery, following Garfield’s Altman as he walks through a seemingly ordinary compound that eventually opens into a vault lined with guns and other weaponry. In voiceover, Garfield’s Altman declares that they opened Pandora’s box together, hinting at the film’s darker interpretation of the AI boom’s early days.

Garfield himself has been upfront that his performance isn’t meant to be a literal impression of the tech executive. He told The Hollywood Reporter that he doesn’t personally know Sam Altman, distancing his portrayal from a direct, factual recreation and instead framing it as his own interpretation of the character.

That distinction may matter to viewers trying to separate dramatized theatrics from reality, especially given how much attention the film’s tone is already generating online. With Jack Altman’s reaction going semi-viral within hours of the trailer’s release, it’s clear the Altman family itself is paying close attention to how this portrayal lands.

‘Artificial’ has had an eventful road to release already. Amazon originally had the project before dropping it this past summer after investing $50,000,000,000 in OpenAI itself, a conflict of interest that eventually led Neon to pick up distribution rights instead.

The film will make its world premiere at the 2026 New York Film Festival on October 5 before opening in limited theaters on Christmas Day, with a wider theatrical rollout planned for January 2027. Given the response the trailer has already generated, from both critics and Altman’s own family, ‘Artificial’ looks set to be one of the more talked-about awards-season releases of the year.

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