One Of The Best Netflix Shows Helped Andrew Garfield Through A Low Moment

Even the biggest stars in the world have bad days. This is something erstwhile Spider-Man Andrew Garfield has been open about, whether he's speaking openly about grieving his mother or admitting that he still has the occasional crisis of confidence, even during the height of his success. The actor spoke to BBC Radio 1 about the latter situation in an interview in 2022, and admitted that he had a rather unorthodox comfort show when he was performing as Prior Walter in the towering, intimidating stage masterpiece "Angels in America."

"I'm doing 'Angels in America' in London and I'm staying in my apartment and 'BoJack' was my kind of comfort show during that time," Garfield told interviewer Ali Plumb, referencing Raphael Bob-Waksberg's incredible, now-ended animated series "BoJack Horseman," which centers on a washed-up celebrity horse. A version of Garfield actually appeared on the Hollywood-skewering show as an ex of ill-fated child star Sarah Lynn, though the actor didn't voice the character (he was actually played by Mr. Peanutbutter actor Paul F. Tompkins). "I know that I'm parodied in that show, with my big hair and my kind of nervous green sweater," Garfield recalled, though he didn't make mention of one of his fictionalized counterpart's funniest qualities: his love of lasagna and hatred of Mondays.

At any rate, Garfield found himself touched by a more serious moment in the show involving his character, in which antihero BoJack (Will Arnett) loses out on a major movie role when Garfield becomes available. The episode, the season 1 finale titled "Later," apparently came into the actor's life at just the right moment. "I had a really bad night on stage and I came home just feeling so low, feeling really like a bad actor, like I blew it," Garfield recalled, "and I put on 'BoJack' and it happened to be the episode where BoJack is auditioning for 'Seabiscuit.'" It's the role of a lifetime for the former sitcom star, and as Garfield noted, he's confident that it's his moment. "He auditions and he nails the audition," the actor explained, "and he's about to get the part, and then the casting director gets a call saying, 'Oh my God, Andrew Garfield just became available for the part of Seabiscuit.'"

From the sound of it, Garfield went into the scene identifying most with BoJack, yet its hyper-specific twist of fate left him more aware than ever of what he had, and perhaps helped him snap out of his moment of insecurity. "BoJack is the one that is left totally despondent, so there was this amazing moment of complete existential meta, like suddenly I was BoJack but also I was me and I was the one getting in my way," Garfield told Radio 1. In a move that's fitting for the painfully tragicomical "BoJack Horseman," the actor said he was left both laughing and sobbing "uncontrollably" in response to the scene.

In the end, Garfield said that anecdote is a reminder to be grateful for what he has. "I'm just so grateful that I get to work," he admitted. "I'm just so grateful that I get to make things and make things that I love." When he gets into that mindset of self-doubt, the actor said he's reassured by the idea that, if all else fails, he could do theater for an audience of 10 people, and that would be enough.

Of course, that doesn't seem to be in the cards for the two-time Oscar nominee. As bad as he might have felt after a rough day on stage (which, to be fair, is bound to happen when you're starring in an eight-hour play), he's still one of the most charming and commanding actors working today. He's currently set to star in an upcoming film about Carl Sagan, a kids' adventure story from the writer of "Paddington 2," and a romance alongside Florence Pugh. He's certainly doing a lot better than his "BoJack" counterpart, who, in case you had forgot, broke all his bones falling through the floor of an off-season Halloween store.