Garfield Says He Never Met Altman During Artificial Shoot

Andrew Garfield said he never met Sam Altman and never interacted with him while filming Artificial, denying an account the OpenAI CEO has given of an encounter outside his home. Garfield's remarks were reported by comingsoon.net.

Garfield said he did not use a body double for his role as Altman, and that the production did shoot outside Altman's house, which he described as an eerie day. He said he was told Altman was not home and that security staff were present.

Altman had said that one morning during filming outside his house he saw a man dressed like him with the same backpack and waved at him once, in an interview with Vanity Fair. Garfield said he reviewed that interview several times because he found it confusing.

Artificial is a biographical comedy-drama about the origins and internal power struggles of OpenAI, with Garfield playing Altman. The background given for the film covers Altman's trajectory up to the November 2023 boardroom crisis in which he was briefly ousted and then rehired.