![\"(L-R)](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/002528f7-614.jpg\"\/)
\n(L-R) Ike Barinholtz, Andrew Garfield, Monica Barbaro, Luca Guadagnino, Yura Borisov, and Mark Rylance at the BFI London Film Festival screening of Artifical at The Royal Festival Hall on 11 October, 2026<\/p>\n
Curiosity and fear powered actor Andrew Garfield’s performance in Luca Guadagnino’s OpenAI film Artificial, which premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Garfield plays OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in the film, which unfolds over two decades.<\/p>\n
It \u2060chronicles the conception and growth of the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT and Altman’s dramatic firing and rehiring in 2023.<\/p>\n
“I think the reason I was drawn to it was just pure curiosity and fear and really trying to understand as deeply as possible the people who are ushering us into this next phase of the world,” said Garfield.<\/p>\n
“There’s a sense of courage and imagination and resilience these people at the top of these companies must have, the ability to withstand so much criticism and such a microscopic lens on them as people. And it’s important that we do that because \u200cwe need to know who’s in \u2060power and who’s creating our new world,” he said.<\/p>\n
Garfield, who also starred in 2010’s Facebook origin film The Social Network, did not contact or meet Altman in preparation for the role.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know Sam and I have a lot of compassion for a person who’s my age, almost, and there’s a movie being made about him,” Garfield said.<\/p>\n
“It’s not him, but it’s \u200can idea of what this story is and his part in it.”<\/p>\n
\n(L-R) Ike Barinholtz, Andrew Garfield, Monica Barbaro, Luca Guadagnino, Yura Borisov, and Mark Rylance at the BFI London Film Festival screening of Artifical at The Royal Festival Hall on 11 October, 2026<\/p>\n
OpenAI did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Vanity Fair, \u2060Altman said he was not expecting an “accurate depiction”.<\/p>\n
With a screenplay by Emmy-winning Saturday Night Live writer Simon Rich, Artificial stars \u200cRussian Oscar nominee Yura Borisov as OpenAI co-founder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who left \u2060the company after \u200chis involvement in Altman’s brief ouster.<\/p>\n
It follows the ethical differences and conflict over AI safety between Altman and Sutskever, who trained under Geoffrey Hinton, known as the ‘Godfather of AI’ and portrayed in the film by Mark Rylance.<\/p>\n
The film also stars Ike Barinholtz as Tesla CEO \u2060Elon Musk.<\/p>\n
Monica Barbaro plays Mira Murati, OpenAI’s former technology chief.<\/p>\n
![\"Monica](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/002528fb-614.jpg\"\/)
\nMonica Barbaro – “It’s so fascinating making a film like this when the topic is so relevant right now”<\/p>\n
Artificial was shot in 2025 and comes at a \u2060time of mounting concerns triggered by recent incidents at OpenAI and Anthropic that have sparked fears rogue AI systems may slip beyond human control.<\/p>\n
“It’s so fascinating making a film like this when the topic is so relevant right now,” said Barbaro.<\/p>\n
“We’d be on set, watching two people argue with each other on Twitter, who we were portraying in this movie.<\/p>\n
“It was really wild to have that experience. It’s exciting and it’s also really \u200cdaunting because you want to be truthful, but the truth seems to change every month.”<\/p>\n
Artificial is due to open in Irish cinemas on Friday, 22 January 2027.<\/p>\n
Source: Reuters<\/p>\n