Andrew Garfield says Dylan O'Brien's impression of his Social Network performance was 'better'

Andrew Garfield isn't cool. You know what's cool? Dylan O'Brien.

As you may recall, O'Brien did a rather flawless impression of the Tick, Tick… Boom! star's performance in The Social Network back in 2020, recreating a climactic scene from the Oscar-winning drama alongside Parenthood alum Sarah Ramos. And though Garfield registered his approval at the time, he went even further in a new interview with BBC Radio 1, jokingly(?) saying that he considered O'Brien's performance "just as good, if not better" than his own.

When asked by the interviewer how it felt to be "outgunned, outshot" by O'Brien, Garfield said, "I love him. I think he's so talented, and I thought that was very, very cool."

The interviewer also pointed out that while notoriously perfectionist Social Network director David Fincher made Garfield do 40 takes of the scene, it likely only took O'Brien one to "top" the actor.

"Probably one," Garfield said wryly. "Just as good, if not better. And handsomer."

He added, "What is it? 'Homage is the greatest compliment'? Is that anything?" (Actually, it's "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," but good try!)

In the interview, Garfield also recalled his initial reaction upon seeing the film with costar Jesse Eisenberg. "I remember, me and Jesse went to the premiere, and we saw it, and we were both so riddled with neuroses," he recalled. "I think we were just also feeding off of each other's neuroses. I think we both got exponentially more neurotic just by being in the same company as each other... We were like, 'Yeah, it's s---. You were s---, I was s---.'"

But, he added, "I definitely came around to loving the film." As did most people.

Garfield recently earned his second Oscar nomination for his performance in Tick, Tick… Boom!, which is available to stream on Netflix, as is The Social Network. You can watch Garfield's BBC interview below.

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