Andrew Garfield revealed that he originally prepared to play Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network before director David Fincher chose Jesse Eisenberg for the role. The actor revisited the casting decision while discussing his upcoming film Artificial, in which he portrayed OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman.
Andrew Garfield recalls losing Mark Zuckerberg role in The Social Network to Jesse Eisenberg
During an interview with GQ published on November 4, Garfield recalled how Fincher informed him that another actor would portray Zuckerberg in the 2010 film. According to Garfield, the director believed Eisenberg could deliver a stronger performance as the Facebook co-founder.
However, Fincher also recognized Garfield’s emotional range and suggested he portray Eduardo Saverin instead. The director reportedly felt that Garfield’s abilities would better suit Saverin, whose relationship with Zuckerberg became a central part of the film. He accepted the alternative role and appreciated the opportunity.
“So Eduardo became my kind of guy, and I was very happy with that,” he said. Despite his satisfaction, the Andrew Garfield casting experience left him curious about the personalities and motivations of powerful technology executives. The actor explained that he wanted to understand the competitive mindset behind achieving extraordinary success.
That interest later influenced his approach to playing Altman in Artificial. During an earlier interview with Esquire U.K., Garfield also discussed his fascination with figures such as Zuckerberg and Altman. He described himself as competitive and connected that characteristic to his childhood experiences as an athlete.
The upcoming film explored OpenAI’s founding and Altman’s removal and subsequent return as CEO. Garfield starred alongside Yura Borisov, who portrayed OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, and Ike Barinholtz, who played Elon Musk.
Meanwhile, Eisenberg did not return as Zuckerberg in Aaron Sorkin’s follow-up film, The Social Reckoning, which reached theaters in October. Eisenberg had previously expressed reservations about maintaining his association with Zuckerberg. However, Garfield told GQ that he did not share similar concerns about audiences connecting him with Altman after Artificial.
He expressed confidence that his career would continue beyond the role and praised Eisenberg’s work as an actor and filmmaker.
