The actor has become a symbol of healthier masculinity following his viral appearance on ‘Chicken Shop Date’ and an emotionally vulnerable conversation with Elmo
Every so often, social media hails a celebrity who goes viral after an interview or a role that resonates with the zeitgeist and wins over viewers. This is how the so-called “internet’s boyfriend,” a title that has been held by figures like Timothée Chalamet and Benedict Cumberbatch — two prime examples of how this fleeting digital fame often has little to do with traditional notions of beauty.
“When real men disappoint us — in their politics, their bullshit, their basic human inconsistencies — the internet’s boyfriend is a paragon of enlightened masculinity, constructed by committee,” Sulagna Misra explained in a 2016 article for The Cut. “Usually it’s a man with enough mystery to keep these projections of desire from puncturing, but enough charm that his popularity was merely a matter of timing. Usually it’s a man in his early or mid-30s, old enough that a teenager will find him refreshingly mature and a grown-up can lust after him with impunity.”
Typically, the “internet’s boyfriend” goes to an actor who was not previously on the mainstream radar, but Andrew Garfield has become an exception, winning this title despite already being famous for his role in the Spider-Man franchise. How has he done it? The actor has won over the internet thanks to firstly a highly anticipated televised appearance on Chicken Shop Date with Amelia Dimzoldenberg — an interview that’s impossible to watch without sighing (and feeling a bit envious). And secondly, his viral scene with the muppet Elmo, where Garfield openly discusses the grief he’s been processing following the death of his mother in 2019 from pancreatic cancer. The bad boy era is over — today, it’s men who aren’t afraid to show their emotions and proudly identify as feminists who are capturing hearts.
“I consider myself feminine. And of course I consider myself feminist,” Garfield told Cosmopolitan.
Amelia Dimoldenberg has risen to fame thanks to her quirky dating show Chicken Shop Date, where she flirts with celebrities while dining at various fried chicken restaurants. The show has generated its share of buzz, with one of the most talked-about episodes being her date with Billie Eilish. The singer displayed her expert flirting skills, and the undeniable chemistry between the two left many fans wishing the digital date had gone further.
However, the most anticipated episode was undoubtedly her date with Andrew Garfield. Their first encounter on the red carpet of the British GQ Men of the Year awards in 2022 was captured by cameras, and the palpable chemistry between them quickly became a topic of conversation. The following year, at the Golden Globes, Dimoldenberg, who was reporting for the event, reconnected with Garfield. During their interview, he confessed that he couldn’t attend her show because he was afraid of what might happen between them. A year later, his fears came true when they finally went on their much-awaited date.