Andrew Garfield gets emotional with Elmo about his mom’s death: ‘It’s okay to miss somebody’

7 Min Read
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Andrew Garfield has sparked a fresh wave of online discussions about grief and emotions after a video of him opening up to Sesame Streetโ€˜s Elmo went viral, drawing millions of views and an outpouring of support.

A clip shared on X last Friday, showing Garfield chatting with the beloved Muppet, triggered a flood of responses from social media users who found themselves relating to Garfieldโ€™s experience of loss.

Garfieldโ€™s mother, Lynn, passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2019, just before he began filming his 2021 movie Tick, Tickโ€ฆ Boom! The actor had previously shared how working on the film helped him process his grief.

In the heartwarming scene, Garfield sat on a stoop next to Elmo, having a candid conversation about his journey through mourning. He opened up to the furry red Muppet about his late mother.

The Hollywood Reporter and SAG-AFTRAโ€™s โ€œEmmy Nominees Nightโ€
September 10, 2022 โ€“ Los Angeles, California โ€“ Andrew Garfield. The Hollywood Reporter and SAG-AFTRAโ€™s โ€œEmmy Nominees Nightโ€. Photo Credit: Billy Bennight/AdMedia

โ€œElmoโ€™s going around Sesame Street checking in on everybody,โ€ Elmo told a smiling Garfield. โ€œSo, Elmo wants to know how Andrewโ€™s doing?โ€

With gentle encouragement from Elmo, Garfield revealed his thoughts about his mom.

โ€œShe passed away not too long ago, and you know, I just miss her. Miss her a lot,โ€ Garfield said, his voice thick with emotion.

When Elmo expressed sympathy, Garfield reassured him that thereโ€™s no need for apologies. He explained that โ€œitโ€™s actually kind of OK to miss somebody,โ€ even if it brings feelings of sadness.

USA - FX's Under The Banner of Heaven TV Series Premiere - Los Angeles
Andrew Garfield at the FXโ€™s Under The Banner of Heaven TV Series Premiere at Hollywood Athletic Club on April 20, 2022 in Los Angeles, CA. Photo Credit: Carrie Nelson

โ€œThat sadness is kind of a gift. Itโ€™s kind of a lovely thing to feel, in a way, because it means you really loved somebody when you miss them,โ€ Garfield shared, adding: โ€œWhen I miss my mom, I remember all of the cuddles I used to get from her, all of the hugs I used to get from her.โ€

Many viewers commented that the clip appeared around the anniversary of their own parentโ€™s passing. Others expressed gratitude to Garfield and Elmo for normalizing these emotions and explaining them in a child-friendly way.

Garfield concluded by saying he can both miss and celebrate his mother simultaneously. Elmo nodded in agreement and thanked Garfield for sharing, saying, โ€œYou know what, Elmo is gonna think about and celebrate your mommy, too.โ€

2018 Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala: "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
May 7, 2018 โ€“ New York, New York โ€“ Andrew Garfield. 2018 Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala: โ€œHeavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination. Photo Credit: Christopher Smith/AdMedia

This heartwarming response stood in contrast to Elmoโ€™s earlier experience on X. In January, the Muppetโ€™s innocent wellness check โ€“ โ€œElmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?โ€ โ€“ unexpectedly unearthed a deluge of online despair, with users sharing their โ€œexistential dread,โ€ mental burnout, and general disenchantment with daily life.

The Garfield-Elmo interaction, however, seems to have struck a more positive chord, offering a touching moment of shared humanity in the often chaotic world of social media.

The somber responses to Elmoโ€™s earlier check-in prompted Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street, to conduct a nationwide mental health survey, published in August. Now, it seems the internet is once again opening up to the lovable Muppet.

This heartfelt clip aired on the same day Garfield appeared on Amelia Dimoldenbergโ€˜s popular Chicken Shop Date show, a much-anticipated collaboration that had already set social media abuzz.

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Garfieldโ€™s upcoming film We Live in Time, a romantic comedy co-starring Florence Pugh, tells the story of a man falling for a restaurant owner diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer. The couple must face this reality as they navigate their relationship.

Just a week before his chat with Elmo, Garfield openly discussed grief on The New York Timesโ€˜ Modern Love podcast. While reading Chris Huntingtonโ€™s essay โ€œLearning to Measure Time in Love and Loss,โ€ Garfield paused to wipe away tears.

This led to a raw conversation with host Anna Martin. Garfield shared, โ€œIโ€™m sadโ€ โ€“ about fleeting relationships, losing his mother, the thought of losing his father, and the idea of not having his own children.

โ€œBut the sadness is longing. Itโ€™s true longing, and thereโ€™s no shame in it,โ€ Garfield said on the podcast. โ€œAnd I can feel myself right now putting the modern conditioning taboo on this very, very pure feeling Iโ€™m having and expressing with you. And I find that sad.โ€

He expressed frustration with cultural norms that discourage such vulnerability, noting that an โ€œimpulse that is not mineโ€ was telling him to โ€œpull yourself togetherโ€ even as he spoke.

โ€œAnd I think itโ€™s so easy now to feel hopeless in this current state of the world. Being alive right now, it can feel quite hopeless. And we can feel quite numb, we can feel quite disconnected and isolated,โ€ Garfield said. โ€œBut I donโ€™t know. I feel like the feeling, the longing lives in all of us: the longing to connect, the longing to love, the longing to risk.โ€

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Garfieldโ€™s candid discussions about grief and emotions seem to resonate deeply with fans, offering a relatable perspective on dealing with loss and the importance of embracing our feelings, even the difficult ones.


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