Andrew Garfield Says He Feels 'Some Guilt' About Not Having Children By 40

Life is imitating art for Andrew Garfield.

The actor won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of composer Jonathan Larson in “Tick, Tick... Boom!” this year. In the film, Larson takes stock of his life as he approaches the age of 30.

In an interview published in GQ on Wednesday, Garfield, who will turn 40 next year, seemed to be having a similar sense of anxiety about approaching his milestone birthday.

Yet instead of feeling frustrated by his career aspirations like Larson, Garfield said he feels “some guilt” about not succumbing to the “societal obligation of procreating.”

“I always thought I would be the first to have kids and settle down,” the star of “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” told the magazine.

“And [my friends who are also turning 40 are] all shacked up and a couple of kids deep, for the most part. And I’m like…” he continued, trailing off and laughing. “I’m here with you, eating a burger, just contemplating existence. Trying to fill my days with as much nonsense as I possibly can.”

Garfield said he has tried to release himself “from the societal obligation of procreating by the time I’m 40,” which he acknowledged was “easier” for him as a man.

“It’s more about accepting a different path than what was kind of expected of me from birth,” Garfield told GQ. “Like, By this time you will have done this, and you will have at least one child – that kind of thing. I think I have some guilt around that.”

Garfield’s comments come after his ex-girlfriend, Emma Stone, had a baby last year with her husband, “Saturday Night Live” writer Dave McCary. Although Garfield does not mention Stone in his interview with GQ, he does seem to retain a friendly relationship with his “The Amazing Spider-Man” co-star who he dated from 2011 to 2015.

In fact, Garfield told “Happy Sad Confused” podcast earlier this year that Stone still texts him, and was even badgering him for “Spider-Man: No Way Home” spoilers.

His reflection on potential children also comes after the death of his mother, Lynn, who died in 2019.

“Life seems to be a perpetual practice of letting shit go,” Garfield told GQ. “Letting go of an idea of how a thing should look, or be, or feel. And that one’s a big one [to let go of], because of course I would’ve loved my mum to have met my kids, if I’m going to have kids. And she will. In spirit. She’ll be there for it. I know she’s there, for all the big ones.”

To read Garfield’s interview in full, head over to GQ.