Why Andrew Garfield Tries To Never Watch His Own Films
Watching yourself in something can be really awkward. Whether it's a home video shot by family or full-length feature films, that weirdness of seeing yourself how other people see you never goes away. This type of reaction is actually backed up by psychology due to a phenomenon called confirmation bias. The Review of General Psychology defines confirmation bias as "the seeking or interpreting of evidence in ways that are partial to existing beliefs, expectations, or a hypothesis in hand."
Essentially, what this means is that if you think something about yourself or something else that you're viewing, you will find a way to incorporate that into your interpretation. So, in theory, if you're embarrassed by yourself when watching a video that has you in it, then you'll automatically think that the video itself is embarrassing. It's a level of self-awareness that, for many people, is too much to handle.
One of these people is Andrew Garfield, who has now added an Emmy nomination to his long list of award recognitions. In a 2011 interview, the "Under the Banner of Heaven" actor told The Hollywood Reporter the straightforward reason why he prefers not to watch the movies he's in.
"I don't want to be aware of what I'm doing," he explained. "As soon as I am, I'm less open."
Not a strict rule
However, Garfield himself has proven that this rule isn't exactly followed to the strictest degree. There have been a couple of instances where he admits to watching something that he stars in, whether from pressure or out of curiosity. One such film was "The Social Network," which he briefly discussed in the Hollywood Reporter interview linked above. According to him, he had watched it at the DVD release party for the film after those in attendance piled on the peer pressure.
There's another film of his, though, that he not only admitted to watching, but also watched it in a theater with a massive crowd. Earlier this year, Garfield told Entertainment Tonight that he and Tobey Maguire covertly attended a screening of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" on its opening night.
"I snuck into a theater on opening night and just watched with my baseball cap on and my mask," he explained. "Me and Tobey snuck into a theater together and no one knew we were there. It was just a really beautiful thing to share together."
Needless to say, I now need to know whether he's seen his "Under the Banner of Heaven" episodes. Can anyone please confirm this? Or rather, can Andrew Garfield himself confirm this? No one else needs to email us about this. Your move, Mr. Garfield.