Andrew Garfield Has ‘No Asshole Policy’ When Choosing Roles

Andrew Garfield may be taking a break from acting, but when he returns, he’ll be abiding by the same rule he has for every role he chooses.

“There’s a no a–hole policy,” the Oscar nominee, 38, exclusively told Us WeeklyWhile promoting his series, Unter dem Banner of Heaven.

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“Life is short. You know what I love. [executive producers] Ron Howard Brian Grazerand the whole group of people? And I think [showrunner] Dustin Lance BlackIt is very similar. Lin-Manuel Miranda is very similar,” he continued. “We’re not only casting the roles right. We’re casting a family that will serve the north star of the project, not their own egos. The ability to work together and create something greater than themselves. And we’ll have a good time doing it. And I think it’s a pretty cool way of working. It’s like, there’s a ‘life’s too short’ kind of thing. If we’re gonna go to work and you’re putting together a team, you’re gonna want it to be a good gang that wants to muck in and play together. And then that’s what this was, for sure.”

The limited FX series is based on Jon Krakauer’s true crime bestseller and follows the events surrounding the 1984 murders of Brenda Wright Lafferty.Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her baby daughter. Garfield portrays Jeb Pyre, a detective and devout Mormon who questions his beliefs while he investigates this case with Bill Taba (Gil Birmingham).

“I prepared heavy in the lead up to shooting. I researched a lot, and I did all of my preparation in a really deep way,” the actor told Use. “I went to Utah. I spent a lot with Mormons. I love that part of preparation and worked very hard on the script with Lance so it felt authentic. I just immersed myself in that culture.”

Everything you need to know Unter dem Banner of Heaven

Garfield, who recently was a staple in the awards circuit for Miranda’s tick, tick… BOOM! Eyes of Tammy Faye — while also reprising his Spidey role in Spider-Man has no way home — revealed that he approachedUnter dem Banner of Heaven differently than any other project he’s ever done.

“It was funny once we started shooting, it was very, very different from what I’ve ever experienced. I would leave work at work for the first time,” he explained. “I really needed to break from that world and be as ordinary and as kind of restful as possible so that I could come back the next day and throw myself back into that very, very dark subterranean kind of hellscape that we were having to inhabit as these characters to try and uncover this really, really dark and toxic case.”

Birmingham and Garfield met years before they began working together. “We met when we were involved in two films that were out, kind of up for Academy Awards in 2017. Hell or High Water Hacksaw Ridge,” the Broadway star explained. “And we had a lovely connection back then. It was a warmth immediately and I’m a big fan of Gil’s work as well. It was really a great thing. When actually Dustin Lance Black said, ‘I’m thinking about Gil Birmingham for [Bill] Taba,’ I was an immediate yes. It was a tick for me. I was like, ‘Yes. Hell yes. That’s the guy I wanna work with.’ So yeah, it worked out.”

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“It’s a real blessing,” Birmingham chimed in. “If you’re in the business long enough, you cross paths often. Some people you’re waiting for a chance to get to work with. And Andrew was one of those people.”

“Ah, come on!” Garfield interjected.

“I had to say that,” Birmingham teased, adding of his costar: “It just comes down to the kind of human being you’re interacting with. And it’s such a joy when you find just a really compassionate and committed artisan at their job and just a great human being that is exploring life and their journey the same way we all are.”

Garfield agreed. “Same with Gil. I believe we shared a kind of brotherhood, simpatico connection. It felt really good to know that Gil was someone who was on a spiritual quest in his life just as I am and feel like we can access that in our work,” he told Use. “And, you know, astrologically speaking, he’s a Cancer. I’m a Leo. We are the Zodiac’s mother, and father. And when those two signs combine it’s a power unlike has ever been seen before on this earth.”

When the Pieces of Her actor questioned, “I’m assuming I’m the father?” Garfield wasn’t as sold. He proclaimed: “The Leo is the king.”

Unter dem Banner of HeavenAlso stars Sam Worthington, Wyatt Russell, Denise Gough, Billy Howle, Adelaide Clemens, Rory Culkin, Seth Numrich, Chloe Pirrie Sandra Seacat.

The show’s first two episodes premiere on Hulu on Thursday, April 28, with a new episode available in each of the following five weeks.