2025 has brought plenty of its own exciting and viral moments to pop culture, including Andrew Garfield’s ‘sexy’ glasses bit at The Golden Globes. But for the actor, it was anything but what the internet perceived it to be. He reveals what was really going through his head in the lead up and during the misconstrued string of events. And it really is the complete opposite from how it was read on TV.
Ahead of his 2025 movie release, After the Hunt’s premiere, the actor chatted with MTV about the iconic GG presentation clip. Per a video on Instagram, Garfield shares the real story behind his accidental but wildly watchable movements while introducing Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy. As he prepared to rehash the full succession, ahead of the onstage antics, he added,“You can quote me on this,” before beginning:
I get out, we’re about to go out and I’m kind of relaxed. And then as soon as you walk out with, you know, wonderful Kerry Washington, and you’re surrounded by your peers and people that you admire and have admired since you were a child, your heart starts racing and you start feeling this kind of unbridled terror.
I’ve never thought about how presenters must feel ahead of their timeslot in annual award shows, but I can only imagine many feel similar to Garfield. The amount of star power in the room, let alone maybe even at someone’s side can be unnerving enough. Just take the Spider-Man actor’s buzzy Goldie Hawn Oscars homage for example.
But, things really started going sideways for him as he and Washington walked to the designated spot in front of the microphone. After considering where to stop, sharing the space, and whether people can hear them adequately (among other details), he realizes he needs glasses to read his part. Thankfully, he had them in tow, as he said:
So you, then you think, then I thought, ‘OK, are we on the mark? OK, OK, we’ve got to make sure we split the mic because some people can’t be heard, haven’t been heard on the mic, if they’re not splitting it properly. So I’m going to make sure— but I’m going to make sure. Also, I’m slightly behind Kerry because she has the first line. Oh, f**k. I can’t actually see the f**king teleprompter. Did I bring my— yes, they’re in my right hand.’
I’m starting to feel the wave Garfield was riding in that ninety seconds or so. It’s one thing to be amped up ahead of the moment, but a full other when you stay in that type of energy. Which, again, is wildly understandable with how big of a night it was to celebrate even bigger celebs. (But it does make sense why Andrew Garfield and Monica Barbaro became couple goals over the summer in matching white Wimbledon outfits.)
Once he secured the glasses on his face, things didn’t improve all that much. He then realized not only was his shirt overly unbuttoned for his comfort, it wouldn’t stay put after attempting to adjust it properly. The failure, in turn elicited a facial expression and resulted in reminding himself to stay calm:
Put the glasses on. ‘Great. OK, now I can see. Oh shit, but now I can see, like, a video of myself and this shirt is too open. I do not—I do not want to give people this much of my flesh.’ And then I move the shirt, and I try to close it, and it just opens up anyway. And I’m like, ‘OK, just breathe.’ And I do— breathe. And maybe that makes me do a facial thing. I don’t know. And I’m like, ‘just relax and breathe.’
Yikes. What a series of unfortunate events, but at least none of it read that way to the unsuspecting viewer. It only elicited more love for one of the most recent internet movie star boyfriends. And maybe enticed the fans to imagine more hyper specific tech involved thirst tweets. Fans may have thirsted over the moment, but honestly there’s more NSFW content on Paramount+ out there.
Finally, it was time for Garfield to jump in, and that part went off without a hitch. He thought his part in the evening was finished, only to find out later it was only the beginning, as he said:
And then it’s time for me to say my bit. And we did it, and I looked, and I was like, ‘Oh, it was fine, we didn’t try and be funny. That was great.’ And then we were done, and then–.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels absolutely thrilled to know what was going on for The Social Network actor then. It was all so unexpected but undeniably mesmerizing to watch. And though the evening was exciting and fun enough, Garfield and his glasses are by far one of the main takeaways from the event.
Regardless if you saw Andrew Garfield’s viral glasses moment as ‘sexy’ or felt his ‘unbridled terror,’ it was one for the books. And, thankfully there’s plenty more of his professional projects to watch if you like AG and his killer acting abilities. Fans can re-watch last year’s Golden Globes ceremony over on Paramount+.