Like your indie music-obsessed ex-boyfriend who won’t shut up about listening to Tame Impala before they made it big, I’m here to say I liked him before he was popular. That’s right. I had dibs on Andrew Garfield long before you saw “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and thought you loved him, too. I liked him before he gave you a top-tier musical performance in tick, tick…BOOM!”, and I was thoroughly in love with him by the time you even knew he was “The Amazing Spider-Man”. A small, nine-year-old me, was head over heels for her first celebrity crush in the year 2009 after seeing “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” for the first time.
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” was an incredibly odd movie that featured a star-studded cast. While I don’t remember the details of the plot, two incredibly important details remain clear in my mind’s eye: 1) this movie was freaky and I never wanted to watch it again and 2) Andrew Garfield was the cutest boy I had ever seen.
“The Amazing Spider-Man” only made my love for Garfield grow stronger. As an awkward, dorky middle schooler who felt a bit misunderstood, it was refreshing to see awkwardness and wit be flirty and desirable (watch this scene if you want your heart to absolutely burst). Watching Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy flirt with Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker was a formative moment in my romantic awakening. That was what flirting felt like for me. As I grew older, I knew I would never be able to pull off a sexy and approachable air, but this movie made me realize I could be awkward and witty while still being liked.
While I’ve continued to follow Garfield’s career with a considerably reduced amount of passion, it’s hard to ignore that my typical type falls into the same personality category as a lot of his characters. The obsession of my youth created a standard for my current age. There began my obsession with skinny brunettes with terrible social skills and quick-witted humor.
Garfield lives a notoriously private life. In his few encounters with the paparazzi, he can be seen holding up information about non-profit organizations scribbled on restaurant napkins and to-go bags. Like all other celebrities, he is gracious and well-spoken in interviews and on press tours. While I know now that nobody can truly know a celebrity, my little heart can’t help but root for Andrew Garfield.
So before you go on about how cute this underrated spider-actor is, know that there is a long line of ex-dorky middle schoolers standing in your way.