← Latest briefing

Entertainment

Andrew Garfield discusses portraying Sam Altman in upcoming drama Artificial

The actor shared insights into playing the OpenAI CEO during the company's 2023 leadership crisis.

The short version

  • Actor Andrew Garfield discussed his preparation for playing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in the upcoming Luca Guadagnino film "Artificial."
  • The film dramatizes the November 2023 corporate crisis in which Altman was fired and subsequently reinstated at OpenAI.
  • Garfield stated he has never met Altman and relied on the script, research, and public documents for his portrayal.

Key facts

  • Andrew Garfield stars as Sam Altman in "Artificial," an upcoming drama directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Simon Rich.[Variety]
  • The film depicts the five-day period in November 2023 when Altman was fired and subsequently reinstated as CEO of OpenAI.[Variety]
  • In an interview with Esquire U.K., Garfield stated he has never met Altman and based his portrayal on the film's script, court transcripts, interviews, and general research.[Variety]
  • The ensemble cast of "Artificial" includes Monica Barbaro as Mira Murati, Yura Borisov as Ilya Sutskever, and Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk.[Variety]
  • Amazon MGM Studios originally developed and funded the approximately $40 million movie, but dropped it in June after filming concluded, following Amazon's major financial investment in OpenAI.[Variety]
  • Neon acquired the worldwide theatrical distribution rights to the film after Amazon dropped the project.[Variety]

Sources