Spider-Man's Andrew Garfield “less concerned about commercial success” now

In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com about his recent role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, we asked the actor if he intentionally tried to mix big blockbuster roles with smaller films, and he responded that while there was no deliberate plan as such, his mixture of recent roles "was an accident of [his] kind of longing".

"I just kind of follow my own gut when it comes to what I want to do in any given moment," he explained. "And I work pretty hard at freeing myself into being less concerned about commercial success, because we all know that that is not dependable, there are certain things that are not dependable.

"And I think it's important for me to free myself of needing to be in a hit all the time," he added. "Because, for me, the priority is more about artistic freedom than it is about anything else, because that's eternal, that's untouchable.

"Like, if I get to keep working, if I get to make a piece of theatre twice a year in a small black box theatre with an audience of 10, then I'm happy, that's enough for me.

"And I think that being the kind of foundation is just healthier for me, rather than imagining, or kind of holding myself to ransom that I have to make a certain amount of money or to have a certain amount of ticket sales – I don't want to live that way. So I think it's more just keeping myself free and happy really."

Garfield recently secured a Best Actor nod in this year's Oscar nominations for his role in Tick, Tick... Boom!.

• Read more from our interview with Andrew Garfield

The Eyes of Tammy Faye is out now in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.

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