Andrew Garfield and Sam Altman Disagree Over a Wave on Set

Andrew Garfield plays OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman in the film Artificial, and the two men now disagree about a moment during the shoot.

Altman told Vanity Fair that he waved at Garfield while filming outside his house. He also said Garfield "did walk like me." Deadline reported the comments.

Garfield does not remember it that way. He said he never waved at Altman. Speaking to GQ, he said he has never had any interaction with Altman and has never seen him in real life. He said the crew were told Altman was not home during the shoot, and that Altman's security staff were there.

Garfield also described watching an Altman interview several times. He said he was very confused by it and replayed it to work out what Altman was saying.

The film was shot outside Altman's home in San Francisco. It is directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Simon Rich. It centres on a five-day stretch in November 2023, when OpenAI's board fired Altman and then brought him back. Reuters reported that the story spans two decades.

The cast also includes Yura Borisov, Monica Barbaro, Cooper Hoffman, Ike Barinholtz, Jason Schwartzman, Chris O'Dowd, Mark Rylance, Zosia Mamet, Cooper Koch and Billie Lourd.

For a film about a real company and a real chief executive, the dispute is a small one. It is also a reminder that the people on screen are often close enough to be asked about a shoot, and the two accounts differ on a single street moment.