‘Artificial’ Star Andrew Garfield Recalls Believing OpenAI’s Sam Altman Was ‘Genuinely Great’ and Could Be ‘My Future Best Friend’

Nov 9, 2026 11:06pm PT ‘Artificial’ Star Andrew Garfield Recalls Believing OpenAI’s Sam Altman Was ‘Genuinely Great’ and Could Be ‘My Future Best Friend’

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Marc Malkin

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Andrew Garfield’s portrayal of Sam Altman in “Artificial” is less than flattering, but there was a time when the actor deeply admired the OpenAI co-founder and CEO.

“The first time I saw Sam, he was testifying in front of Congress and he was saying incredibly righteous stuff,” Garfield said Monday night during a Q&A following an AMPAS screening of the film at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles. “He was talking about transparency; he was talking about the risks. He was very, very casually saying, ‘No, I don’t have any equity in OpenAI. I’m just doing this because I love the technology and I’m passionate and I actually care about human beings.’”

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