Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#248
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Andrew Garfield works on versatility rather than volume, and the catalogue keeps proving that the quieter choice was the correct one.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Andrew Garfield appears in 28 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Andrew. Hacksaw Ridge is the clearest case: a film rated 8.4 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for documentary, fantasy, adventure. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Ben Gregor, Paul Greengrass, Luca Guadagnino and others, Andrew Garfield helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Hacksaw Ridge (2016) as Desmond T. Doss · Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) as Peter Parker / Spider-Man · tick, tick... BOOM! (2021) as Jonathan Larson
Career snapshot
Ranked #248 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
28
2007–2026
Career length
19 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.4
Hacksaw Ridge
Average Nutevio score
6.4
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.2
Hacksaw Ridge
Most frequent director
John Crowley
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With John Crowley
Most common genre
Drama
20 titles
Average runtime
1h 48m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
6.9
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.3
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
2010s
7.1 average MV
The 2010s are where the work and the material meet. Under the Silver Lake, Breathe, Hacksaw Ridge — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2010s
7.1
Across 10 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2010s
7.1
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
2000s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974, Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980.
Most productive era
2020s
11 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.76 films | 7.28 films | 5.56 films |
| Action | 6.01 film | 6.92 films | 8.31 film |
| Thriller | 6.83 films | — | — |
| Comedy | — | — | 6.31 film |
| Crime | 6.94 films | 6.52 films | — |
| Romance | 6.71 film | 7.23 films | 7.21 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
2007Lions for Lambs
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Todd Hayes.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2016Hacksaw Ridge
8.4 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2026The Uprising
The current state of the argument, as Ploughman.
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
28 of 28 films
as Desmond T. Doss
Directed by Mel Gibson
as Jonathan Larson
Directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda
as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
Directed by Jon Watts
as Robin Cavendish
Directed by Andy Serkis
as Tobias Durand
Directed by John Crowley
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Loading credits…
The defining work
#1
Desmond T. Doss
Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
Performance score8.8
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Desmond T. Doss gives Andrew Garfield a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Jonathan Larson
tick, tick... BOOM! (2021)
Performance score8.1
tick, tick... BOOM! asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Jonathan Larson is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Peter Parker / Spider-Man
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Performance score8.0
Spider-Man: No Way Home asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Peter Parker / Spider-Man is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Robin Cavendish
Breathe (2017)
Performance score8.0
Breathe asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Robin Cavendish is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Desmond T. Doss
Start here. Hacksaw Ridge is the clearest statement of what Andrew Garfield does — accessible, 139 minutes, and rated 8.4 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Andrew at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Breathe (2017)
Keeps the drama register of Hacksaw Ridge but asks for a colder reading of it.
tick, tick... BOOM! (2021)
Keeps the drama register of Breathe but asks for a colder reading of it.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
A deliberate change of key after tick, tick... BOOM! — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
We Live in Time (2024)
A deliberate change of key after Spider-Man: No Way Home — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Marc Webb
Director
2 films together
Notably The Amazing Spider-Man
John Crowley
Director
2 films together
Notably We Live in Time
Robert Redford
Director
1 film together
Notably Lions for Lambs
Justin Chadwick
Director
1 film together
Notably The Other Boleyn Girl
Anand Tucker
Director
1 film together
Notably Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983
James Marsh
Director
1 film together
Notably Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980
Julian Jarrold
Director
1 film together
Notably Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974
Terry Gilliam
Director
1 film together
Notably The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Spike Jonze
Director
1 film together
Notably I'm Here
David Fincher
Director
1 film together
Notably The Social Network
Mark Romanek
Director
1 film together
Notably Never Let Me Go
Ramin Bahrani
Director
1 film together
Notably 99 Homes
Martin Scorsese
Director
1 film together
Notably Silence
Mel Gibson
Director
1 film together
Notably Hacksaw Ridge
Andy Serkis
Director
1 film together
Notably Breathe
David Robert Mitchell
Director
1 film together
Notably Under the Silver Lake
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Director
1 film together
Notably tick, tick... BOOM!
Michael Showalter
Director
1 film together
Notably The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Jon Watts
Director
1 film together
Notably Spider-Man: No Way Home
Luca Guadagnino
Director
1 film together
Notably After the Hunt
Paul Greengrass
Director
1 film together
Notably The Uprising
Ben Gregor
Director
1 film together
Notably The Magic Faraway Tree
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
John Crowley
Director
2 films together · 7.2 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
We Live in TimeMarc Webb
Director
2 films together · 6.9 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Amazing Spider-ManMel Gibson
Director
1 film together · 8.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hacksaw RidgeJon Watts
Director
1 film together · 8.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Spider-Man: No Way HomeLin-Manuel Miranda
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
tick, tick... BOOM!Andy Serkis
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BreatheDavid Fincher
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Social NetworkSpike Jonze
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
I'm HereMartin Scorsese
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SilenceMark Romanek
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Never Let Me GoJames Marsh
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980Anand Tucker
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983Ramin Bahrani
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
99 HomesJustin Chadwick
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Other Boleyn GirlJulian Jarrold
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974Michael Showalter
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Eyes of Tammy FayeTerry Gilliam
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Imaginarium of Doctor ParnassusDavid Robert Mitchell
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Under the Silver LakeBen Gregor
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Magic Faraway TreeRobert Redford
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Lions for LambsLuca Guadagnino
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
After the HuntPaul Greengrass
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The UprisingSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Recognition
4 wins · 4 nominations
No wins yet · 2 nominations
as Actor
as Actor
1 win · 1 nomination · latest 2021
as Actor
as Actor
1 win · latest 2008
as Actor
1 win
as Actor
1 win · latest 2022
as Actor
No wins yet · 1 nomination
as Actor
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Hacksaw Ridge
as Desmond T. Doss
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
tick, tick... BOOM!
as Jonathan Larson
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Hacksaw Ridge
as Desmond T. Doss
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980
as Eddie Dunford
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Hacksaw Ridge
as Desmond T. Doss
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Andrew Garfield has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Drama Legend
Awarded
20 catalogue titles in drama, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Hacksaw Ridge
as Desmond T. Doss
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Spider-Man: No Way Home
as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
We Live in Time
as Tobias Durand
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
as Anton
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Spider-Man: No Way Home
as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Spider-Man: No Way Home
as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
We Live in Time
as Tobias Durand
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Spider-Man: No Way Home
as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
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Works with the same directors — Martin Scorsese
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Works with the same directors — David Fincher
Robert Downey Jr.
Works with the same directors — David Fincher
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Edward Norton
Works with the same directors — David Fincher
Zach Grenier
Works with the same directors — David Fincher
Have your say
Community
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Our readers argue about this one. Make your case, or read the ranked debate already in progress.
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Reference
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