Known for being the famous web-slinger Spider-Man but capable of being so much more, Andrew Garfield has proved that he of the great actors of our generation. From stage performances to blockbusters, and everything in between, Garfield has given his all in every role he has ever portrayed. He started out with small roles in television that required him for just an episode or two before landing his first starring role in the film Boy A, where he played a young man recently released from prison after serving time for a childhood crime. His latest credit is for playing Mormon police detective Jeb Pyre in FX's limited series Under the Banner of Heaven, in which he was absolutely fantastic.
No matter what the role or project entails, Garfield delivers excellent performances each and every time. He is a three-time BAFTA nominee and one-time winner, a three-time Golden Globe nominee and one-time winner, and a two-time Oscar nominee, among many other awards and nominations. Every performance of his is full of emotion, depth, and nuance. He even learned how to sing and read music notes in order to portray Jonathon Larson in tick, tick... BOOM!
Despite being known for his Spidey role and movies such as Hacksaw Ridge or The Social Network, Garfield has also showcased his range in a number of independent films. He thrives in everything he does, but he truly gets to shine in smaller films where he is able to exert creative control over his acting decisions. Without further ado, here are Andrew Garfield's indie movies, ranked.
6 Breathe (2017)
Based on a true story, handsome and adventurous Robin Cavendish (Garfield) is diagnosed with polio at the age of 28, confining him to a hospital bed with only a few months to live. With the help of his wife Diana's (Claire Foy) twin brother and the groundbreaking ideas of inventor Teddy Hall (Hugh Bonneville), Robin and Diana are able to flee the hospital to seek out a fulfilling life together and devote their time to helping other polio patients.
Breathe was distributed in the U.S. by independent film distribution company Bleecker Street and by STX International in the U.K. Garfield gave a heartfelt, empathetic performance as a man who lost all mobility from the neck down at such a young age. Andy Serkis' directorial debut may not be the best biopic effort, but the strong performances from both Garfield and Foy tell the Cavendishs' story with genuine care.
5 The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021)
A detailed look into the rise, fall, and redemption of infamous televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker, The Eyes of Tammy Faye show Tammy's (Jessica Chastain) and her husband Jim's (Garfield) humble beginnings in the '70s and how they created the world's largest religious broadcasting network and theme park by the '80s. The couple was revered for their message of love and acceptance for all, and Tammy became legendary for her one-of-a-kind eyelashes, peculiar singing, and her willingness to embrace people from all walks of life.
The film was distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures, the independent branch of 20th Century Fox, and received mixed reviews. However, most critics and viewers alike agreed that the performances of Chastain and Garfield were undeniably convincing. Both actors became the real-life people they were portraying, and it makes every bit of the film worth watching. The movie was a passion project for Chastain, and she herself wanted Garfield specifically for the role of Jim Baker, saying that she had him in mind when they were first talking about the film.
4 Mainstream (2020)
A young woman named Frankie (Maya Hawke) finds a path to internet stardom when she starts making videos with a charismatic stranger named Link (Garfield). An eccentric love triangle is formed between the two and her best friend as the three attempt to preserve their identities in the fast-moving internet age.
The second full-length directorial effort from Gia Coppola, granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola, is not as polished as her first film Palo Alto. Mainstream received negative feedback for its attempt to satirize the nature of viral online fame with overused commentary. It is glaringly on-the-nose, but it does have a few worthy criticisms about the vapid ways of internet culture. The editing choices make for some intriguing shots and sequences that certainly make the film stand out from others. Whether you agree with the arguments the film tries to make or not, it is indisputable that Andrew Garfield gives a performance unlike any other he has given. He is utterly unhinged in this role and goes completely wild. His fame-obsessed character is insufferable, yet somehow you can't stop watching him. It's not the most profound film, but it's definitely a weird, strange 95 minutes.
3 Never Let Me Go (2010)
As children, Ruth (Kiera Knightley), Kathy (Carey Mulligan), and Tommy (Garfield) grow up in a seemingly idyllic English boarding school. As they grow into adults, they must come to terms with the complexity of the love they have for one another while also preparing for the daunting reality that they were raised to face.
Produced by Film4 and distributed by Fox Searchlight, Never Let Me Go is a romantic drama with dystopian elements that boasts incredible performances from its main trio. Their boarding school had been prepping them since childhood to devote their entire adult lives to be organ donors and to ultimately sacrifice their own chance at a long life to instead give that chance to strangers. The time that the three close friends had together was limited, but they learned valuable lessons about love, life, and loss together that made their bond even stronger. It's one of Garfield's earliest film performances, and even at the beginning of his career, he was already proving to audiences that he was capable of delivering award-worthy performances.
2 99 Homes (2014)
In sunny Orlando, Florida where theme parks and tourist attractions prosper, construction worker Dennis Nash (Garfield) learns the hard way that honest work gets a person nowhere when gun-toting real estate broker Rick Carver (Michael Shannon) evicts him from his home. Homeless and humiliated, Dennis has no choice but to move his mother and his nine-year-old son into a dilapidated motel with other evictees. Desperate to get his home back, Dennis strikes a deal to work with Carver. Together, they enter a world of scamming banks and the government and discover how the rich get richer. The caveat is that Dennis has to do to others exactly what was done to him - evict honest families from their homes.
Set during the Great Recession that occurred between 2007-2009, 99 Homes depicts the real-life fear and desperation many working-class Americans were facing at the time. Families were struggling, people were losing their jobs, and the markets were crashing. Anyone who was alive and retaining memory during those years knows that life was not easy for most Americans. This film is set against the backdrop of bright and shiny Orlando, where there's a mixture of tourists from around the globe, wealthy people with grand Floridian houses, and struggling blue-collar workers who can barely make ends meet. Garfield convincingly portrays an average American man who hopelessly tries to keep his family afloat in a sea full of financial obstacles. We see him wrestle with his morals and struggle to justify putting people through the exact same situation he went through. We get to see what utter despair and humiliation will drive person to do, especially for money.
1 Under the Silver Lake (2018)
Young and disenchanted Sam (Garfield) meets a mysterious woman (Riley Keough) who is swimming in his apartment complex's pool one night. After talking to her that night, she is nowhere to be seen the next morning. Sam embarks on a surreal quest throughout the city of Los Angeles figure out the reason behind her disappearance the leads him to the murkiest depths of conspiracy and scandal occurring in the City of Angels.
Under the Silver Lake may be one of A24's most underrated films and one of Andrew Garfield's best roles. This was director David Robert Mitchell's second directorial entry after his successful turn with It Follows, and it is a delirious, unnerving dive into the strange underground of L.A. It's a magnificently weird film that blends mystery with dark comedy with hints of Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch signature styles while still managing to bring something entirely new to the L.A. noir subgenre. It's beautifully shot, and the editing choices fit the bizarre world of the film. Garfield gifts viewers with another wonderful performance as a single young man who is disappointed with his life but apparently unwilling to do anything to actually change his life. He is essentially a paranoid conspiracy theorist with no concrete life goals who would rather spend his time investigating something that is completely unrelated to his life even though he is on the verge of being evicted. Sam is actually quite irritating at times, but Garfield's performance makes you want to keep watching Sam on his absurd quest to uncover this mystery.