Actor Andrew Garfield has stated he never had any interaction with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during the production of the upcoming film "Artificial." The actor's comments come in response to an anecdote from Altman claiming the two waved to each other while the movie was being filmed outside Altman's residence.
Garfield told GQ that he was very confused by Altman's claims and stated he "wasn't there." He noted that he watched the interview several times to try and understand what Altman was saying. Garfield said, "I never had any interaction with him. I’ve never seen him in real life."
According to Garfield, the production was filming outside of Altman's house on an "eerie day," but he was told the CEO was not home. He stated he saw one security guard but never saw Altman, suggesting the billionaire may have mistook someone else for him. Garfield clarified that he did not have a body double, which he believes rules out the possibility of someone else being mistaken for him.
In contrast, a representative for OpenAI told GQ that Altman was home during the filming and reiterated that he waved at Garfield.
Altman had previously told Vanity Fair that he encountered the production near his house. He described seeing cameras and a man dressed exactly like him with the same backpack, which he said made him feel like he was in a "weird glitch of the simulation." Altman claimed he waved at the man and said it was strange to see someone who had "nailed your kind of quirky mannerisms."
Directed by Luca Guadagnino, "Artificial" is scheduled to open in theaters on Christmas Day from Neon. The film is set during the period in 2023 when Altman was fired and subsequently rehired by OpenAI. The cast includes Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk, Monica Barbaro as Mira Murati, Yura Borisov as Ilya Sutskever, and Mark Rylance as Geoffrey Hinton.
