Andrew Garfield has claimed he lost out on a major film role because the producers didn’t think he was “handsome enough”.
The British actor – who just won a Golden Globe for his performance in the Netflix musical Tick, Tick… Boom! – has revealed that before he found global fame in The Amazing Spider-Man, he tried out for a part in Disney’s adaptation of the Chronicles Of Narnia novel Prince Caspian.
“I remember I was so desperate,” Andrew told Entertainment Tonight. “I auditioned for Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia and I thought, ‘This could be it, this could be it’.”
He then recalled that he got down to the last two actors for the role, but ended up losing out to “that handsome, brilliant actor Ben Barnes”.
“I think it was down to me and him, and I remember I was obsessed,” he explained.
Andrew said that after persistently “nagging” his agent for feedback on why he lost out on the part, “she was like, ‘It’s because they don’t think you’re handsome enough, Andrew’”.
“Ben Barnes is a very handsome, talented man,” he added. “So in retrospect, I’m not unhappy with the decision and I think he did a beautiful job.”
Following his win at the Golden Globes, Andrew is being tipped for an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of musical theatre writer Jonathan Larson in Tick, Tick… Boom!.
This would be his second nod, after being recognised by the Film Academy for his Hacksaw Ridge in 2016.
Andrew will next be seen in the miniseries Under The Banner Of Heaven, and will reportedly take the lead in Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming remake of Brideshead Revisited.