Andrew Garfield Clarifies His "Gay Man" Comments

Earlier this month, Andrew Garfield made headlines for all the wrong reasons after stating that he was "a gay man right now without the physical act," (opens in new tab) in reference to his latest role. Now, the actor has said that his comments were taken out of context.

Garfield, who is set to play a homosexual man in Angels in America, was criticized for the comments, which many said simplified what it means to be gay. The actor has since spoken out to clarify what he actually intended to get across.

"That's of course not what I meant at all," Garfield told Newsbeat (opens in new tab). "That discussion was about this play and how deeply grateful I am that I get to work on something so profound. It's a love letter to the LGBTQ community. We were talking about, 'How do you prepare for something so important and big?' and basically I was saying, 'I dive in as fully as I possibly can.'"

Garfield went on to explain that he strongly wants to play the part "to the best of [his] ability"—something he feels he owes to the LGBTQ community, and that's why his comments may have come across in the way that they did.

"My longing is to serve and to keep the world spinning forward for the LGBTQ community in whatever way I'm meant to," he added. "It's important to a community that I feel so welcomed by. The intention [in my comments] was to speak to that, speak to my desire to play this part to the best of my ability and to fully immerse myself in a culture that I adore."

Follow Marie Claire on Facebook (opens in new tab) for the latest celeb news, beauty tips, fascinating reads, livestream video, and more.