Actor Andrew Garfield speaks candidly about portraying OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming drama “Artificial.” In comments highlighted by outlets, Garfield says the role requires a particular mental separation, describing Altman as someone with an ability to “dissociate.” He also uses strong language suggesting the situation represented in the film causes “damage to the soul of humanity.”
The film is set during a pivotal five-day period in November 2023, when Altman is abruptly removed as CEO of OpenAI before ultimately returning to the company. Both sources frame the movie as a dramatization of the corporate upheaval around OpenAI at the time. While both outlets focus on Garfield’s remarks about Altman’s character and the stakes implied by the story, they do so through different emphasis: one foregrounds Garfield’s comments about the psychological approach required for the performance, while the other stresses the film’s setting and the real-world sequence of events being depicted.
Overall, the reports align on the casting and the historical timeframe “Artificial” covers, with the differing angle centered on whether the conversation leads with the actor’s interpretation of Altman’s mindset or the film’s broader context around the November 2023 saga.
