Andrew Garfieldās mother,Ā Lynn Garfield, died of pancreatic cancer inĀ 2019, and while joiningĀ The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert,Ā the actor talked about honoring her in his latest film,Ā Tick, Tick, Boom!,Ā in a powerful message about living with grief.
During the episode, Garfield discussed how he carries the grief of losing his mother with him every day, but heās happyĀ to talk about it because it reminds him of how much love he had for her.Ā
āThis is all the unexpressed love, theĀ grief that will remain with us until we pass, because we never get enough time with each other, right,ā Garfield said. āNo matter if someone lives until their 60, 15, or 99, so I hope this grief stays with me because itās all the unexpressed love that I didnāt get to tell her, and I told her every day, we all told her every day. She was the best of us.ā
When discussing how this love translated intoĀ Tick, Tick, Boom!,Ā Garfield said that playing a character like Johnathon Larson, who passed away before his time as well, felt like a way to express his love for his mother through his art.
āSo, for me, I was able to step into this in a way where I could honor this incredible life of Johnathon Larson, and he was taken far too soon,ā he said. āHe died at the age of 35 on the night of the first preview ofĀ RentĀ off Broadway of the New York City workshop in some strange twist of fate that he was taken that soon.ā
Ultimately, Garfield said that he was thankful for the opportunity to play the role because he was able to honor his mother through his art.
You can check out the entire clip from Garfieldās appearance onĀ Late NightĀ up top.